NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The Castleton University men's basketball team opened the 2021-22 campaign with a victory on Friday night, defeating MCLA by a final score of 94-82 in road non-conference action.
The Spartans (1-0) had eight different players score six or more points in the contest, and shot 37.3 percent as a team. MCLA (0-1) shot 39.2 percent, but made just 5-of-25 from three. Castleton was 12-of-37 from three. The Spartans knocked down 20-of-24 free throws, while MCLA made 15-of-28. The Trailblazers controlled the glass, hauling in 62 rebounds to Castleton's 45, but MCLA committed 20 turnovers while Castleton had just six. The Spartans turned MCLA's mistakes into 26 points on the night.
Joe Alamprese had a team-high 19 points for the Spartans, adding five rebounds and three steals to his line.
Jackson Atty had 16 points, making 3-of-9 from three.
Remy Brown chipped in with 15 points and made 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Darrell Hardge had a well-rounded game, scoring six points, rgabbing six rebounds and dishing out seven assists.
Oluwadare Sowunmi and
Alex Blackmore joined Hardge with six rebounds each. Blackmore had eight points, as did
John Walsh.
MCLA's Dylan Morris-Gray led all scorers with 22 ponits, while Hayden Bird added 16 for the Trailblazers. Tyler Showers had 15 points off the bench for MCLA. Reece Racette grabbed 11 rebounds, with Bright Afful adding seven points and eight boards and Mamadou Diallo adding nine rebounds with six points.
Castleton held a 10-point advantage late in the first half, leading MCLA 33-23 with 6:25 to play before halftime. The Trailblazers went on a tear from there, outscoring Castleton 14-1 over the final six-plus minutes to take a 37-34 lead into halftime.
The Spartans held strong, however, scoring the first six points out of the locker room on a trio of layups to take a 40-37 lead once again. The two sides traded blows back and forth, but MCLA eventually took a seven-point lead—its largest lead of the game—with less than nine minutes to play in the game.
Castleton began to claw back, leveling the score at 70-70 just two minutes later when Walsh buried a three. A layup by Atty leveled it at 72-72, before a Walsh layup gave Castleton its first lead in more than five minutes. Castleton extended the lead to six points with 4:28 to play after a pair of free throws by Alamprese and another three by Walsh, 80-74. A three by Blackmore gave Castleton an 83-74 lead with four minutes remaining, and MCLA never got closer than six points again. The Spartans put the game on ice with clutch free throw shooting down the stretch, making all six of their attempts in the final minute of play.
Castleton takes the court at Glenbrook Gym on Sunday afternoon for the first time in 625 days. Fans are welcome to attend the contest, but are required to wear a face covering at all times while inside the facility. The Spartans host SUNY Delhi at 3 p.m.
