CASTLETON, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's basketball team was unable to hang on to an early lead, falling to Rhode Island College, 79-75, on Saturday afternoon.

VTSU Castleton was able to jump out to an 18-8 advantage to open the contest, powered by a pair of threes from Ben Seiler and one from Crisrael Lithgow. RIC was able to battle its way back into the contention  as Ousmane Kourouma put up eight points on two dunks and two layups. Will Radcliff missed on a three-point attempt to see Castleton down 40-39 heading into the half.

The Anchormen never trailed in the second half, despite the Spartans keeping it close throughout the next 20 minutes. Trailing 75-67 heading into the final 64 seconds, Justin Schwarzbeck sank a trey to ignite a fire under his squad. Seiler added on of his own with 26 left on the clock to make it 77-73.

Following a free throw by the opposition, Radcliff put up a layup helped along by Seiler to make it 78-75. The Anchormen found the board once more as Isaiah Dahl went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe to close out scoring 79-75.

Seiler continues to be strong from three as he put up 19 points, 10 (5-for-9) of which came from beyond the arc. The junior added three steals and three boards on the defensive end of the court in his team's efforts.

Zach Thompson was second-best in scoring with his 14 points, followed by Schwarzbeck with 12. Radcliff rounded out the double-digit scorers with his 11 points. He led his team off the boards with five rebounds.

The Spartans will return to action on Dec. 14 as they travel to Anna Maria College for a 1 p.m. non-conference matchup.