CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University men's basketball team held No. 5 Keene State to its second-lowest point total of the season on Wednesday night, but could not muster enough offense to top the nationally-ranked Owls in a 63-35 loss at Glenbrook Gym.
 
The Spartans (3-20, 0-15 LEC) battled hard against the 23-1 (15-0 LEC) Owls, but Keene outlasted Castleton in the contest. The Owls entered the contest averaging more than 87 points per game. Keene State shot 37.5 percent in the contest while Castleton hit just 26.0 percent from the floor. The Owls knocked down nine threes to Castleton's four and hit 12-of-21 at the line. Castleton made 5-of-8 free throws.
 
Ryan Holland had seven points for Castleton while Evan Pockette and Mu Moore added five apiece. Tray Wright and Brandon Cahill had four each. Moore led the team with seven rebounds and two steals, while Wright and Justin Schwarzbeck had five rebounds each.
 
Mason Jean Baptiste led Keene with 12 points, followed by 10 points each from Jeric Cichon and Jeff Hunter. Cichon and Hunter each had a double-double in the contest, with Cichon grabbing 12 rebounds and Hunter pulling down 11.
 
Keene Sttate led 11-0 before Castleton got on the board nearly five minuntes into the game. Holland hit a jumper and then two free throws in the following minute to make it 11-4 before Cahill scored back-to-back baskets for Castleton to make the score 13-8 seven minutes into action. A 12-4 run by the Owls extended their lead to 25-12 before Wright broke the drought with a layup. The Owls added on to the lead late, taking a 29-15 edge into the second half. The Owls' 29 points in the half were the second-fewest for the team in any half this season.
 
A 10-3 run to open the second half pushed the Owls' lead to 39-18, but Hunt hit a three and Wright added a layup to make it 39-23. After a pair of free throws by Hunter, Pockette hit a contested three-pointer for a 41-26 score, but the Owls responded with three unanswered threes and a free-throw to put the game out of reach, 51-26. Moore broke the drought with back-to-back layups for Castleton and Holland added a three to break up a 6-0 run the Owls put together later in the half. After a pair of Patrick Forstmann free throws for Castleton, Keene scored the final four points of the game to cap the night on top, 63-35.
 
Castleton concludes its season on Saturday at UMass Dartmouth at 3 p.m.