CASTLETON, Vt – The Vermont State University Castleton men's basketball team came up short against the University of Southern Maine on Saturday by a fraction of a second, as a would-be-game-winning three pointer was waved off by officials to give the Huskies a 66-64 victory at Glenbrook Gym.
Scott Lampron rose up from behind the arc and hit what would have been the game-winning three, but officials quickly ruled that the shot came after the final horn sounded. Lampron had previously kept the Spartans in the hunt with a clutch three just minutes prior. VTSU Castleton is now 5-11 on the season and 1-6 in LEC play with three of the LEC losses coming by five points or less. USM improves to 8-7 overall and 4-3 in LEC action with the victory.
Justin Schwarzbeck had a team-high 18 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Joe Russell joined him in double figures with 13 points and
Conner McKearin contributed nine points off the bench.
Will Radcliff had six points, nine rebounds and five assists. Russell, Lampron and
Zach Thompson each had a pair of steals.
USM was powered by 22 points from Chance Dixon, 18 of which came in the first half alone. Cody Hawes added 14 and a team-best eight rebounds while Brady Saunders had 12 points and Tommy Whelan added 10.
The Spartans started quickly, getting a layup from Thompson on the opening possession and opening up a 7-3 lead four minutes in. After the Huskies took a brief lead, the Spartans rattled off three layups in a row to go up 13-8. The score was level at 13-13 following a three and a lay in by the Huskies. The two sides went back-and-forth from there, with neither side scoring more than two baskets in a row before halftime. USM led 33-31 at the break after a late layup by Hawes.
VTSU Castleton tied the game right out of halftime on a layup by Russell and went ahead 38-35 after a triple by Russell. The Huskies then tallied 11 straight points to go ahead 46-38, but the Spartans answered with six unanswered points of their own on back-to-back Radcliff layups and a layup by Schwarzbeck. Castleton regained the lead with 8:25 to play after an off-balance three by
Adam Bilodeau at found the bottom of the bucket and McKearin dropped in a layup. After USM took back the lead on the next possession, McKearin answered again with another layup to put the Spartans in the lead 53-52.
Five straight points by the Huskies gave the visitors some breathing room at 57-53 with six minutes left, but a three-point play by Thompson as he was falling to the floor pulled the hosts within a point. A layup by Russell kept it a one-point game with 4:34 to play, 59-58, but the Huskies again tried to pull away with a 7-0 run that was capped by a three from USM's Justin Allen.
Allen's three gave the Huskies a 66-58 lead with 1:33 to play, but the Spartans continued to push on both ends of the floor. Lampron buried a three from the wing to set the score at 66-61, and Schwarzbeck followed suit on the next possession to make it 66-64. After a late USM turnover, the Spartans had one final chance to tie or win the game. Lampron set up on the left wing before dishing to a driving Thompson. Thompson was swarmed in the lane, so he kicked the ball back to Lampron for an open shot at the top of the arc, but Lampron's attempt came just after the final horn sounded on the contest.
VTSU Castleton returns to action on the road on Wednesday to wrap up the first half of LEC play with a 4 p.m. tip at UMass Boston.
