FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Castleton University men's basketball team dropped a non-conference contest at Fitchburg State on Wednesday night, losing by a final score of 78-67 on the road.
 
The Spartans (5-5) shot 33.8 percent (24-of-71) as a team, while Fitchburg State (2-8) knocked down 45.9 percent (28-of-61) from the floor. The Spartans made 12-of-45 from three (26.7 percent), while Fitchburg was just 3-of-15 from long range (20.0 percent). A big difference came from sheer volume at the free-throw line, with the Falcons hitting 19-of-33 and Castleton making 7-of-13. Fitchburg State won the rebounding battle, 54-36, and had 22 second-chance points from 17 offensive boards.
 
Three Spartans reached double digits scoring, led by Remy Brown's 13 points. Darrell Hardge added 12 points and five assists, while Johnny Torrence had 11 points—all of which came in the first half. He also had a team-high eight rebounds. Eric Shaw scored nine points with a trio of threes, with Oluwadare Sowunmi and Joe Alamprese scoring seven points apiece.
 
Fitchburg's Quincy Taylor had a game-high 20 points, followed by 16 from Kerns Monvilus and 15 from Javon Taylor. Dominik Williams rounded out the Falcons' four double-digit scorers with 11 points. Both Taylors logged double-doubles in the contest, with Quincy Taylor grabbing 12 boards and Javon Taylor 10.
 
The Spartans got on the board first in the contest, but the Falcons answered with six straight points to take the lead, 6-2. Fitchburg held the lead the remainder of the first half from there, leading by as many as 14 points. Castleton rattled off 10 straight points, however, as Torrence hit back-to-back threes and made a layup for the first eight points of the run. After the dust settled on the scoring spurt, Castleton trailed by just four points, 25-21, with 5:48 remaining in the frame. The lead shrunk to two points minutes later when Shaw knocked down a three to make it a 31-29 contest. Fitchburg added a few points to its lead before the half, taking a 40-34 lead into the locker room.
 
Castleton erased the lead over the first four minutes of the second half, tying the game on a three by Hardge before taking its first lead since the opening minutes when Alex Blackmore knocked down a free throw. After back-and-forth play, Alamprese hit a three of his own to give Castleton its largest lead of the game at three points, 50-47. With Castleton leading by two points, 56-54, after another three by Shaw, the Falcons rattled off 12 unanswered points to take a 10-point lead, 66-56. Castleton never got closer than eight points from then on, as the Falcons kept the Spartans at arm's length over the final seven-plus minutes of play.
 
Castleton returns to action on Saturday with its first home game in more than a month when it hosts Southern Maine in Little East Conference action at Glenbrook Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.