CASTLETON, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's basketball team battled hard against a tough Western Connecticut State University group on Saturday, but fell short 96-73 in Little East Conference action at Glenbrook Gym.
 
The Spartans (3-6, 0-2 LEC) went blow-for-blow with the Wolves (7-1, 3-0 LEC) early in the contest, playing WestConn even at the under-16 media timeout, 14-14. The Wolves gained a little separation with back-to-back baskets, but Adam Bilodeau hit three free throws to make it a one-point game once again. An 8-0 run from there by the Wolves gave the visitors a comfortable lead at the time, 26-17, and they continued to build on it over the next seven minutes. Trailing 47-31, VTSU Castleton posted a 7-0 run of its own thanks to consecutive layups by Joe Russell and a three from Scott Lampron. The burst cut the gap down to nine—47-38—but WestConn scored 10 unanswered points over the last three minutes going into the locker room to lead 57-38.
 
Castleton came out of the half shooting from distance, hitting a trio of three pointers in the first 90 seconds of the frame. WestConn responded with two threes of its own in the first two minutes, however, keeping Castleton at bay and the lead at a comfortable margin. The Wolves continued to maintain their edge the remainder of the contest, never allowing Castleton to piece together an extended run to get back into the contest.
 
As a team, Castleton shot 40.6 percent from the floor and 27.6 percent from three. The Spartans also hit a season-best 92.9 percent at the free throw line, knocking down 13-of-14. It was the highest rate at the line for the Spartans since the 2021-22 season when the team hit 18-of-19 against UMass Dartmouth.
 
Lampron's 22 points led three Spartans in double figures. He was joined by Will Radcliff with 14 points and Russell with 10. Radcliff also had a team-high nine rebounds and Lampron added three steals.
 
Six members of WestConn scored 10 or more points, highlighted by 18-point nights from Cameron Gallon and Jaheim Young. Alfonso Stokes added 15 points. Keeshawn Jones grabbed nine rebounds for the Wolves.
 
The Spartans return to action on December 29 and 30 when they play in the Dr. Carol V. DeCosta Tournament at Medgar Evars in Brooklyn, N.Y.