NEW LONDON, N.H. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's basketball team suffered a 78-64 loss on the road on Tuesday night, falling to Colby-Sawyer in non-conference action.
 
The Spartans (2-4) shot 37.5 percent as a team and hit 10-of-14 free throws on the night while knocking down six threes. The Chargers (4-3) made shots at a 42.5 percent clip and hit 11-of-15 at the line. Rebounds favored Castleton 45-43 but Colby-Sawyer had a 13-9 edge in second-chance scoring. The biggest difference in the game came in points off turnovers, with Colby-Sawyer holding a 23-9 edge converting on opponent miscues.
 
Joe Russell led Castleton with 14 points and added eight rebounds as well. Conner McKearin dropped a career-high 12 points and Zach Thompson added 11 for the Spartans. Scott Lampron contributed nine points against his former team and Will Radcliff chipped in eight points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
 
Colby-Sawyer's Jaquan Mosley had a game-high 20 points and Bullen Taban hauled in 13 rebounds.
 
The game was tight early, with the score tied 5-5 three minutes in after a layup by Radcliff. Colby-Sawyer sprouted a 7-0 run over the next two minutes but Castleton answered with four points on layups by Thompson and Russell to make it 12-9 Chargers. After both sides knocked down threes, Colby-Sawyer again went on a lengthy run, this time posting eight unanswered points for a 23-12 lead. McKearin stopped the bleeding by hitting a layup, and Adam Bilodeau responded to a Charger three with a layup of his own to keep the gap at 26-16. VTSU Castleton whittled away at the lead before the break, using a late three from Justin Schwarzbeck and a layup by Russell in the waning moments to go into the locker room trailing by eight, 39-31.
 
After the two sides went back-and-forth to start the second half, the Chargers posted a 7-0 run to extend its lead to 56-40 with 11:29 to play. Castleton answered with buckets from McKearin and Russell, and Thompson buried a three a minute later to make it 58-47. After five unanswered points by Colby-Sawyer, a seven-point burst from the Spartans that covered a two-minute span shortened the gap to 63-54 as Radcliff scored four points in the stretch. Colby-Sawyer padded its lead with four minutes to go, using a 6-0 run to go ahead 74-58. Thompson and Lampron had baskets and Tedum Tornwini added two final free throws for the 78-64 final.
 
The Spartans travel to Rhode Island College for the Little East Conference opener on Saturday at 3 p.m.