CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University men's basketball team was defeated 82-70 by Rhode Island College in the first game of the Little East Conference schedule on Saturday at Glenbrook Gym.
Castleton (3-5, 0-1 LEC) shot a season-high 52.7 percent from the floor, hitting 29-of-55 from the field. The Spartans also shot 40.0 percent from three, knocking down 4-of-10. Rhode Island College countered by shooting 51.7 percent from the field (31-of-60) and 53.3 percent from long range (8-of-15). RIC also hit 12-of-18 free throws while Castleton made 8-of-13. RIC won the rebound battle 36-25 and outscored Castleton 19-8 in second-chance points.
Alex Blackmore had a team-leading 15 points while
Brandon Cahill added 12 points and a team-high six rebounds and five assists.
Will Radcliff and
Carter Mackey had 10 points each.
Tray Wright added nine points and three assists with three steals.
John Walsh had eight points and
Justin Schwarzbeck finished with six points and four blocks.
Nathaniel Maldonado had a monster night for RIC, racking up 35 points on 12-of-21 shooting. He also had six rebounds for the Anchormen. Anthony Rivera added 16 points and five boards.
The game was tight early, with RIC scoring first before Radcliff tallied a layup to level the score. A three by Maldonado was answered by a three-point play from Wright on Castleton's end of the floor to make it 5-5. Another three by Maldonado gave RIC a lead it held onto for nearly eight minutes, but Blackmore buried a three with 10:29 to play in the first half to level the score at 20-20. A six-point run by the Anchormen put them ahead for good, but Castleton continued to battle and work away at the lead. Consecutive jumpers with less than three minutes to play in the first half made it a four-point game, but RIC closed the half on a 6-0 run to lead by 10 at the break, 44-34.
The lead remained around 10 points for the first three minutes of the second half as the teams traded scoring, but a five-point burst by the Anchormen extended the lead to 15. Castleton whittled the gap back to 12 points minutes later, but an 8-0 run made a 20-point edge for RIC with 10:24 to play. A pair of Cahill free throws cut into that gap, but RIC answered with a three on the other end to take a game-high 21-point lead. The Spartans then went on a 7-0 run when Radcliff made a layup, Schwarzbeck hit a three and Walsh netted a put-back layup for the Spartans to make it a 14-point game. RIC succeeded at keeping Castleton in a double-digit hole, but the Spartans worked it back to a 10-point game late after another six-point run made it 80-70. A transition dunk by Ousmane Kouroma put the finishing touches on RIC's win, however, making it an 82-70 final score at Glenbrook.
Castleton returns to the hardwood Monday night when it hosts Fitchburg State at 7 p.m.
