CASTLETON, Vt. – The Vermont State University men's basketball team posted a thrilling win to open the season on Saturday night, battling past the Broncos of SUNY Delhi 78-73 in front of an enthralled crowd at Glenbrook Gym.
The Spartans (1-0) trailed by as many as nine points in the first half before turning up the heat and closing the gap. Castleton went into halftime leading 38-35 thanks to a five-minute span that saw the Spartans outscore Delhi 16-4.
After the Broncos (1-1) regained the lead quickly out of halftime, Castleton got a layup from
Will Radcliff and a three from
Justin Schwarzbeck to push in front 43-39. The Spartans never trailed again, though Delhi threatened on multiple occasions. A 6-0 run midway through the second half provided some cushion for the Spartans thanks to two points each from
Joe Russell,
Scott Lampron and
Adam Bilodeau during the stretch. That burst gave Castleton its largest lead of the night—an 11-point edge, 62-51.
Lester McCarthy hit a three for Delhi and a layup on the ensuing possession cut Castleton's lead back to six points, but layups by Bilodeau and Lampron padded the advantage, 66-56. McCarthy again buried a three for the Broncos—one of his five triples on the night—and Gustarling Louis did the same to pull the visitors within four, 66-62. After Radcliff knocked down a free throw for Castleton, another Delhi three cut the lead to two points, 67-65. The two sides traded baskets to a 72-70 lead for Castleton before Schwarzbeck dropped in a layup and Lampron made a free throw for a 75-70 lead. The Broncos weren't done, however, with McCarthy hitting another three to keep them in the game at 75-73 with 24 seconds to play. Castleton buckled down from there, allowing no more points defensively while hitting three free throws on the way out to seal the 78-73 win.
Four Spartans finished the night in double digits in the scoring column, led by Lampron and Radcliff with 17 points apiece. Radcliff added 11 rebounds for an opening-night double-double, and Russell added 15 points and snagged 10 rebounds for a double-double of his own. Bilodeau rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points off the bench. Schwarzbeck finished with eight points.
Zach Thompson had three points, three rebounds and three steals in his collegiate debut.
McCarthy led all scorers with 30 points on the evening, hitting 10-of-18 from the floor and 5-of-5 free throws. Louis added 12 points for the Broncos and Marven Louissaint had a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double.
The Spartans shot 43.1 percent as a team (25-of-58) and made 6-of-18 from three. They also made 19-of-28 free throws. Delhi connected on 41.2 percent from the floor (28-of-68) and 9-of-28 from three. The Spartans had a 43-40 edge on the glass in the contest.
VTSU Castleton is back in action Wednesday night when they hit the road to play Russell Sage at 7 p.m. in Albany, N.Y.
