AMHERST, Mass. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's basketball team held a seven-point lead at halftime, but Ken Wright Invitational Tournament host Amherst College stormed back in the second half to down the Spartans 59-54 in the tournament opener on Friday evening.
Scott Lampron was one of three Spartans in double figures scoring, finishing with a game-high 14 points and four rebounds on the night.
Zach Thompson had 13 points and six boards while
Justin Schwarzbeck rounded out the trio with 12 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Will Radcliff grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds and
Joe Russell added nine points. The Spartans (1-2) were held to 34.9 percent shooting on the evening and made it to the free throw line only eight times in total.
The Mammoths were paced by 13 points from Johnny McCain and 12 from Chris Hammond. Ryker Vance grabbed 11 rebounds for the hosts as they improved to 1-1 on the season. Castleton held Amherst to 36.4 percent shooting and 20.7 percent from three, but Amherst got to the free throw line 18 times, making 13 of them in the process for a key difference in the game.
The game was close midway through the first half, but a three by Thompson and a layup by Radcliff opened up a seven-point lead for the Spartans, 17-10. The lead grew to double figures after a layup and three-pointer by Schwarzbeck on back-to-back possessions, making it 28-16 Spartans with five minutes left before the break. Two free throws by Lampron made it 30-16 before Amherst whittled away at the gap going into halftime. The Mammoths closed the opening stanza on an 11-4 run to send the Spartans to the locker room on top, 34-27.
The Mammoths cut it back to three points right out of halftime, but Castleton was able to hold them at bay for the first nine minutes of the second half before Amherst tied the score at 40-40 on a three by McCain. Thompson hit a pair of free throws that gave Castleton the lead back, but the two sides went back-and-forth for a few minutes before Castleton re-opened a six-point lead. Schwarzbeck dropped in a layup for a three-point lead and Russell buried a three moments later to make it 54-48 with less than five minutes to play. Amherst refused to back down, scoring the final 11 points of the game unanswered for the 59-54 win.
Castleton will face the loser of the nightcap between Thomas College and MCLA on Saturday at Amherst's LeFrak Gymnasium.
