WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Castleton University men's basketball team bested in-state rival Northern Vermont University-Lyndon on Saturday afternoon, topping the Hornets 91-78 and finishing third at the Rick Martin Hampton Inn Tournament hosted by Westfield State.
The Spartans move to 3-2 on the season while Lyndon drops to 1-3 on the year. Castleton shot 43.8 percent (32-of-73) from the floor and 29.0 percent (9-of-31) from three with 18 made free throws. Lyndon posted a line of 36.6 percent (26-of-71) from the floor and 28.9 percent (13-of-45) from three with 13 free throws. The Spartans held a narrow edge in points off turnovers, 18-16, but dominated down low, outscoring Lyndon 40-26 in the paint. Castleton had a 55-31 rebounding advantage, including a 17-5 edge in offensive boards.
Darrell Hardge led five Spartans in double figures with 18 points on the day. He also had seven rebounds, seven assists and five steals.
Joe Alamprese and
Justin Schwarzbeck had double-doubles in the game, with Alamprese scoring 17 points with 10 rebounds and Schwarzbeck adding 14 points and 12 boards.
Remy Brown had 15 points and eight rebounds while
Johnny Torrence scored 13 points for Castleton off the bench.
Lyndon received a game-high 24 points from Zach Falkenburg, while Luke Fredsell and Mondwell Bukle joined him in double figures with 16 points and 14 points, respectively. Aiden Trapani pulled in eight rebounds in addition to his nine points, and Tyrese Harris added five points and five assists.
Castleton ran out to a huge lead to begin the game, as Lyndon struggled from the field in the early minutes. The Spartans led 19-5 eight minutes into the game, and stretched the lead to 36-9 just six minutes later. In total, Castleton went on a 34-6 run over a 13-minute stretch to take a commanding lead late in the half. The Hornets whittled the lead over the remaining six minutes, cutting 10 points off the Spartan advantage to go to the locker room with Castleton ahead, 44-27.
Despite the 17-point halftime lead for Castleton, the Hornets continued to narrow the gap in the second half. Just five minutes into the second stanza, the Spartan lead had shrunk to eight points, 50-42. Two threes and a layup later, Castleton led by 16 points again, but Lyndon continued to hang tough. The Spartans were able to keep the lead in double figures for a majority of the second half, but three by Max Milton cut the lead back to seven, 76-69. Castleton responded with a 7-0 run to extend the cushion back to 14 points, and Lyndon never got closer than 11 points again for the remaining two minutes of the game.
The Spartans are back in action Wednesday night at Russell Sage College at 6 p.m., followed by a pair of weekend games Friday and Saturday at the historic Barre Auditorium for the Granite City Shootout.
