CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University men's basketball team returned to action for the first time in more than three weeks on Wednesday night, falling to UMass Boston by a final score of 76-47 in Little East Confernce action at Glenbrook Gym.
The Spartans drop to 3-8 on the season and 0-3 in LEC play, while UMass Boston picked up its 10th win of the year at 10-3 overall and 3-1 in LEC contests. Castleton shot 33.3 percent from the field (16-of-48) and 29.4 perecnt from three (5-of-17), but UMass Boston hit 50.0 percent of its shots on the night (28-of-56) and made 16-of-18 free throws. Castleton hit 10-of-13 at the line. Rebounds favored the Beacons 38-25.
Jordan Hunt had a team-leading 11 points and four rebounds, while
Justin Schwarzbeck joined him in double figures with 10 points and three boards.
Tray Wright added seven points and
John Walsh and
Carter Mackey had six apiece.
Malik Lorquet had a monster game for UMass Boston with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Ike Eluwa added 13 points while Mariano Rodriguez had nine and Xavier McKenzie paired eight points with three assists.
The Beacons used an early 8-0 run to pull away in the first half, leading 15-3 just six minutes into play. A 9-0 run minutes later extended the gap to 24-7 before found its groove momentarily on offense with six points in a two-minute span. Both sides continued to trade baskets into the break with Castleton unable to make headway, trailing 43-24 at the break.
The Beacons continued to pull away in the second half, opening on a 6-2 run. Castleton answered with a 6-1 run of its own as threes by Hunt and Schwarzbeck bookended a single free throw by the Beacons, but UMass Boston bounced back with six straight points once again. Walsh hit a three before UMass Boston answered with one of its own on the other end and Wright hit a three for Castleton's only points in an 11-3 run by the Beacons that ended with the visitors leading 69-40 with four minutes to play. The final minutes saw numerous free throws by both sides, with the dust settling on a 76-47 final score.
Castleton is back on the hardwood Saturday at 3 p.m. when it hosts Eastern Connecticut in LEC action.
