BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's basketball team landed a runner-up finish at the Dr. Carol V. Decosta Tournament hosted by Medgar Evars on Saturday, falling in the tournament's title game to SUNY Purchase, 74-52.
The Spartans drop to 4-7 on the season while Purchase improves to 8-3 overall. The Spartans struggled from distance, hitting only two threes while Purchase knocked down 10 triples in the contest. Castleton was strong at the free throw line, making 12-of-15. Rebounds favored Purchase 46-41.
Joe Russell tallied 17 points and seven rebounds to lead the team in both categories. He also had three assists and two steals and was named to the All-Tournament Team for his efforts on the weekend.
Scott Lampron scored 10 points and added five rebounds while
Leonard Brice chipped in eight points off the bench on 4-of-8 shooting.
Will Radcliff had seven points and a pair of blocks in the contest.
Purchase's Chad Duke had a game-high 25 points and Matthew Phillips and Trevor Mooney added 12 points each. Phillips had a double-double by grabbing 11 rebounds.
The Panthers jumped ahead 8-0 in the early going, but VTSU Castleton battled back with a five-point run to narrow the deficit thanks to points from three different players. Purchase extended the lead back to eight points a few times with Castleton answering quickly, but three three-pointers in a row by Purchase extended its edge to 15 points late in the opening half, 26-11. The Spartans whittled away at the gap, using an 11-2 run to pull within six, 28-22. Four straight points going into the half kept the Spartans close, trailing 32-26 after 20 minutes.
The start of the second half saw VTSU Castleton pull even thanks to eight unanswered points by Lampron, leveling the score at 34-34. Purchase regained the lead, but Castleton hung tight at 42-38 with 13 minutes to play. A layup by Brice kept it a four-point game with 11:27 remaining, but a nine-point burst by the Panthers extended their lead to 53-40. Radcliff stopped the bleeding with a layup, but Purchase added seven more points to its lead, 60-42. Russell netted consecutive layups to turn the tides, but the Panthers' offensive rhythm could not be contained as Purchase went on a 12-0 run to put the game out of reach, 72-46. Brice had two more layups and
Trey Davine hit a jumper to make it 74-52 at the final horn.
Castleton returns to the hardwood Wednesday night for a Little East Conference battle against Keene State. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 at Glenbrook Gym.
