CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University men's basketball team treated a raucous crowd at Glenbrook Gymnasium to a firework display on Tuesday evening, knocking down 18 threes en route to a 109-78 victory over SUNY Cobleskill in non-conference action.
 
Castleton (2-1) shot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc in the opening half, taking a 64-20 lead into halftime. Four Spartans reached double digits scoring, while 15 players contributed at least two points for Castleton. SUNY Cobleskill drops their first game of the season after nearly two years off from action.
 
The Spartans shot 39.1 percent (34-of-87) from the floor overall and 34.0 percent (18-of-53) from three, while Cobleskill was 25-of-71 (35.2 percent) from the field but just 6-of-26 (23.1 percent) from three. Both teams shot well at the free-throw line, with Castleton knocking down 23-of-30 (76.7 percent) and Cobleskill 22-of-27 (81.5 percent). Castleton had 66 rebounds—25 of which came on the offensive glass. The Spartans turned those 25 offensive boards into 21 points, holding a 21-10 edge in second-chance points. Castleton also had a 42-16 edge in points off turnovers, capitalizing on 23 Tiger miscues while Cobleskill was unable to do the same on 22 Spartan turnovers.
 
Jackson Atty and Darrell Hardge had 14 points apiece to lead Castleton, with Atty nailing 5-of-9 from the field and 4-of-7 from three. Hardge also dished out five assists and had four steals. Joe Alamprese added 12 points, three assists and three steals, while Oluwadare Sowunmi scored 11 points with eight rebounds. Kurgan Brown had a well-rounded night off the bench, scoring nine points, dishing out seven assists and grabbing five rebounds. Justin Schwarzbeck, Remy Brown, Johnny Torrance and Alex Blackmore all finished with eight points each.
 
Cobleskill's Shaun Johnson led all scorers with 18 points in the contest, making 7-of-9 from the field. Naphtali Regilus added 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting with a team-high eight rebounds, and Juwan Malone chipped in 12 points and seven boards. Yandeel Vazquez and Ja'Nyve Smith scored 11 points each for the Fighting Tigers. Smith also had four steals in the game.
 
Cobleskill got on the board first with a three from Malone on the first possession of the game, but Castleton responded quickly as Remy Brown made a free throw and then buried a three for a 4-3 Castleton lead. Cobleskill took a 5-4 lead three minutes into play on a layup by Regilus, but that was the last time the Fighting Tigers would lead in the contest. Consecutive threes by Torrance and Hardge sparked a 17-0 run for Castleton, giving the home side a 21-5 lead. The run covered just four minutes of play, and included five Spartan threes. A 10-0 run later in the half pushed Castleton's advantage to 28 points, 43-15, with 4:35 to play in the half. Castleton ended the first stanza on another 10-0 run, capped by a corner three from John Walsh with less than 10 seconds remaining in the half.
 
The Spartans continued building on their lead out of halftime, pushing the score up to 95-46 at the midway point of the half. Cobleskill whittled down the gap over time, but Castleton continued to keep the Fighting Tigers at bay as both sides shot effectively from the free throw line, not allowing any lengthy runs over the final 10 minutes. Two late free throws by Colson Williams capped the scoring in the game, giving Castleton the 109-78 victory at home.
 
The Spartans begin a seven-game road trip that spans more than a month on Friday when they travel to Westfield State for the Rick Martin/Hampton Inn Tournament. They will play William Paterson Friday night at 7:30 p.m.