DANBURY, Conn. – The Castleton University men's basketball team dropped a Little East Conference matchup at Western Connecticut State University on Saturday, losing by a final score of 86-49.
Castleton (5-18, 0-14 LEC) shot 29.6 percent from the floor (16-of-54) and 30.3 percent from three (10-of-33) while hitting 7-of-10 free throws. WestConn shot 55.6 percent as a team (35-of-63), including 40.0 percent (8-of-20) from three. WestConn dominated the glass, winning the rebound battle 46-26 with a 10-4 edge on the offensive glass.
Castleton was led by 15 points from
Alex Blackmore and 12 points from
Eric Shaw. Blackmore and
Oluwadare Sowunmi had six rebounds apiece.
Joe Alamprese added eight points, and
Darrell Hardge grabbed four boards and dished out six assists.
Matthew Turner racked up 34 points for WestConn, while Kendall Robinson added nine points. Wes Nelson had eight points and 10 assists.
WestConn ran out to a 7-0 lead before Castleton hit back-to-back threes to make it a one-point game, 7-6. The triples by Hardge and Shaw were the start of a 13-3 run by Castleton that put the Spartans on top 13-10 with 12 minutes remaining in the half. WestConn regained the lead with a four-point run, but a free throw by Alamprese and another three by Shaw put the Spartans ahead three once again, 17-14. The hosts responded with four straight layups for an eight-point run and a 22-17 edge. WestConn continued to pull away heading into the halftime break, leading 36-26 after 20 minutes.
WestConn splashed a three to open the second half, but Blackmore hit a three of his own for Castleton to answer back. After playing back-and-forth for a brief period, WestConn rattled off a 19-2 run that spanned nearly five minutes and ended with the hosts ahead 71-42. Blackmore stopped the run with a dunk before Alamprese nailed a three on the ensuing possession. WestConn answered with 10 straight points of its own to make it 81-47. Alamprese added the final points for Castleton with a layup with four minutes to play. Neither team scored for the final 3:20 of action.
Castleton returns to the court Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Keene State.
