COBLESKILL, N.Y. – The Castleton University men's basketball team dropped a nail-biter on Tuesday night to open the season, falling at the buzzer in overtime on the road at SUNY Cobleskill, 80-79.
The Spartans trailed by as many as 17 points in a the first half, but a 13-0 run drew them back in contention and positioned Castleton for second-half success. Cobleskill pushed the lead to double digits out of the halftime break with seven straight points, but a 16-3 run by Castleton form there knotted the score at 45-45, the first time the game was level since the early part of the first half.
Castleton took a one-point lead after layups by Will Radcliff and
Alex Blackmore, but Cobleskill posted a 9-0 run to regain the lead, 57-49, with less than eight minutes to go in regulation. Joe Russell netted six unanswered points for Castleton before Tray Wright dropped in a layup to knot the score once more, 57-57, with 4:19 to play. Russell again scored in bunches, driving for a layup and hitting a late three to give Castleton a 68-65 lead with under one minute to play in regulation. A triple by Cobleskill knotted the score, and a pair of missed free throws by Castleton with just seconds remaining sent the game to overtime.
Russell started overtime with a jumper before Radcliff stopped a four-point run by Cobleskill with a layup to tie the score at 72-72. A Cobleskill jumper was answered with a three by Carter Mackey, giving Castleton a 75-74 lead. The two sides traded blows from there, with Blackmore answering a Cobleskill bucket to keep Castleton ahead, 77-76. Two free throws by Cobleskill put the hosts back on top, before Wright sank a pair at the line to give Castleton a 79-78 lead with 24 seconds to play in the OT period.
After getting a stop on defense, Castleton sent Blackmore to the line to shoot one-and-one. A miss on the first attempt led to a Cobleskill rebound, with the Fighting Tigers working the ball down the court in just five seconds, culminating in a last-second layup for Shelvon Grant to give Cobleskill an 80-79 victory on opening night.
Russell had 24 points and seven assists in his debut for Castleton, while Blackmore added 15 points and a team-leading eight rebounds. Radcliff and Wright also reached double figures, with Radcliff scoring 14 points and Wright adding 11. Radcliff also had seven boards in the contest while Wright added five assists.
Cobleskill had four players in double figures as well, led by Iziah Pigott's 16 points. Justin Feldman added 12 points and Jeremy Rosario and Grant had 10 points each. Markel Jenkins had 16 rebounds to lead all players in the game.
Castleton shot 50.0 percent from the floor, hitting 30-of-60 on the night despite going just 5-of-20 from three-point range. The Spartans had a 42-37 edge in rebounds but committed 21 turnovers to 14 for Cobleskill.
Castleton returns to action with the Spartan Classic this weekend, hosting Coast Guard Friday night at 5:30 p.m.
