CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University men's basketball team hosted Western Connecticut State University on Saturday evening, falling to the Wolves 86-42 in Little East Conference action.
 
The Spartans honored their two seniors prior to the game, as John Walsh and Tray Wright close in on the end of their final season with the Spartans. Walsh led Castleton in scoring with 12 points in the contest, followed by Wright's seven points. The duo also tied for a team-leading five rebounds with Mu Moore, and Wright dished out five assists in the contest.
 
WestConn was led by 15 points apiece from Keeshawn Jones and Jaheim Young, while Jaeden Carr and Ryan Alkins reached double figures at 12 and 10 points, respectively. Kendall Robinson had nine rebounds and six assists to lead the team.
 
The Wolves (21-2, 12-2 LEC) shot 51.7 percent in the game with 12 threes and 14 free throws made, while Castleton (3-18, 0-13 LEC) hit 22.2 percent from the floor with nine threes. WestConn held a 50-31 edge in rebounds and forced 25 Castleton turnovers. The Wolves turned the ball over 27 times themselves, but outscored Castleton 28-16 in points off turnovers.
 
The two sides went back-and-forth over the first seven minutes of play, with the score tied at 8-8 in the early moments. A 15-0 run by WestConn from that point put the Wolves comfortably ahead 23-8 before Walsh hit a three to stop the bleeding. An 11-0 run later in the half put WestConn on top 34-12 before Jordan Hunt buried a three to stop the streak. Another 11-0 run followed, however, as the rabid defense of the Wolves led to offense on the other end and a 45-15 lead late in the opening half.
 
Coming out of the locker room trailing 52-18, Castleton battled evenly with WestConn for the first eight minutes of the second half. Castleton was outscoring WestConn 14-13 in the half to that point, but a quick 10-0 burst by the Wolves made the score 75-32 midway through the second stanza. The lead did not grow much further, as the Wolves claimed the 86-42 victory.
 
Castleton returns to action on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. with its final home game of the season against No. 5 Keene State.