BARRE, Vt. – The Castleton University men's basketball team picked up a comeback victory on Friday night, erasing a one-time double-digit deficit to down Northern Vermont University-Johnson 72-66 at the historic Barre Auditorium in the Barre Granite Association College Classic.
 
Castleton improves to 3-2 with the win while Johnson takes just its second loss of the season at 4-2. Castleton shot 44.1 percent from the field (26-of-59) but made only 21.1 percent from three (4-of-19) on the night. The Spartans were 16-of-23 at the free-throw line. Johnson connected on 46.2 percent from the floor (24-of-52) and 25.0 percent from distance (3-of-12) while making 15-of-22 at the stripe. The Badgers out-rebounded Castleton 38-31 but committed 21 turnovers to Castleton's 13. The Spartans outscored Johnson 23-13 in points off turnovers.
 
Tray Wright had a 16-point, six-assist night for the Spartans, adding four steals on the defensive end. Justin Schwarzbeck added 14 points and six rebounds for Castleton while Alex Blackmore contributed 12 points and a team-high eight boards. Joe Russell rounded out the four Spartans in double figures with 11 points. John Walsh had eight points and three assists off the bench.
 
Raymond Baka came up one rebound shy of a double-double for the Badgers with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Yeskin Walker Williams added 19 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double himself. Mohammed Semega had 11 points and Malik Moore added eight.
 
Castleton went on a six-point run early in the game to take a 6-2 lead, but Johnson responded with a 12-0 run of its own to take a 14-6 lead seven minutes into the game. Castleton drew within one after a seven-point run in which all seven points came from Schwarzbeck. An emphatic baseline dunk by Walker Williams stopped the streak, but Walsh put in a layup at the other end to keep the game tight. After the two sides traded blows, Johnson went on a 9-0 run to push its lead to a game-high 11 points, 29-18, before Blackmore buried a three to stop the bleeding. A late seven-point run by the Spartans made it just a two-possession game, but Johnson hit back-to-back buckets heading into halftime with a 38-30 lead.
 
Castleton drew even at 42-42 five minutes into the second half after a 6-0 run that was capped with a layup by Jordan Hunt. Johnson quickly hit a three on the other end to regain the lead, however. A five-point burst a few minutes later put the Badgers ahead six, 52-46, with 11:23 to play. With 10:21 left in the game, Schwarzbeck hit a triple to start an 8-0 run for Castleton that culminated with a pair of Wright free throws and a one-point Spartan lead, 55-54. Castleton never trailed again, though Johnson tied the game 57-57 and 61-61 before Castleton pulled away with a seven-point run that featured a pair of buckets by Blackmore. Wright made five free throws in the final two minutes to seal the game for Castleton.
 
The Spartans wrap up the Barre Granite Association College Classic with the last game of the tournament on Saturday at 6 p.m. against Norwich.