CASTLETON, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's basketball team dropped a non-conference tilt on Monday night to Anna Maria, falling 87-77 at Glenbrook Gym.
The Spartans had a strong showing offensively, shooting 47.0 percent from the field and making nine threes, but the AMCATS' offense did what it has all season long, knocking down 52.2 percent with a dozen threes in the contest. Castleton struggled at the free throw line making only 6-of-13. The Spartans owned the glass with a 38-33 edge in rebounds, but Anna Maria capitalized on Spartan errors with 24 points off turnovers.
Scott Lampron was VTSU Castleton's leading scorer in the contest, dropping a season-high 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting. He also had six assists and three steals in the game.
Joe Russell added 19 points on 8-of-16 from the floor and
Adam Bilodeau netted 13 points while hitting 5-of-7 from the field. Bilodeau knocked down three three-pointers for the Spartans as well.
Will Radcliff hauled in 13 rebounds to pair with eight points and
Justin Schwarzbeck had eight points—all in the second half—to go with seven boards.
Anna Maria received 23 points from Ray Carter Jr., who hit 7 threes in the contest. Sean Zabari added 20 and Jopaul McKrieth notched 19 in the score column. Zabari grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds for the AMCATS and Trent Smith was credited with five assists.
Play went back-and-forth early in the game, but a 7-0 run for Castleton that had Lampron baskets on both sides of a Russell triple gave Castleton a 12-6 lead five minutes in. A 5-0 Spartan burst six minutes later made it 22-16 VTSU Castleton, but six straight points from Anna Maria leveled the score at 22-22 with six minutes left in the opening half. Three unanswered layups by the Spartans returned Castleton's lead to six points, and a three by Lampron a minute later made it 31-24 Castleton late in the half. The two sides traded scores going into the locker room with Castleton leading 34-28 at the midway mark.
A three immediately out of the locker room by the AMCATS halved Castleton's edge to just three points, but a layup by Russell and a three by Schwarzbeck on both sides of an AMCAT layup returned the lead to 39-33. Carter Jr. then hit a three of his own to make it 39-36, but Schwarzbeck hit another from beyond the arc for a 42-36 edge. Anna Maria buckled down, going on a 9-0 run that in just a minute and a half to take a 45-42 lead. A put-back by Schwarzbeck and a layup by Radcliff put the Spartans back on top by a point, but it was short-lived as Zabari and Carter Jr. nailed back-to-back threes for Anna Maria to give the visitors a 56-48 lead.
The Spartans whittled the deficit back to two points after a 7-2 run later in the frame, using four points by Lampron and a three from Bilodeau to put the score at 62-60 with 9:44 to play. Castleton hung tight for the next few minutes, but four threes over the span of two minutes by Anna Maria put the game at a wider margin, 78-63. Castleton refused to back down, with Lampron hitting a three and a layup to make it 80-68. After a Zabari layup for Anna Maria, Russell and Bilodeau hit layups to pull it back to 10 points, 82-72, with 3:38 on the clock. A three from Zabari late in the shot clock was the dagger for the Spartans, giving the AMCATS an 87-72 lead with less than three minutes remaining. The Spartans scored the final five points of the contest but it was not enough as the horn sounded on an 87-77 final.
Castleton will return to action next Tuesday, November 29, at Colby-Sawyer College at 7:30 p.m.
