CASTLETON, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's basketball team was unable to maintain an early lead, falling to Western Connecticut State University, 87-72, in a Little East Conference showdown on Saturday afternoon.

The game was tightly contested in the opening minutes, with two ties and two lead changes before WestConn pulled ahead 11-8 at the 14:10 mark of the first half. That sparked a 10-0 run by the Spartans, including six points from Crisrael Lithgow, to take a 17-11 lead. However, the Wolves responded with an 11-0 run of their own to reclaim a 20-17 advantage.

Castleton didn't back down. AJ Quesnel delivered a four-point play to put the Spartans back on top, 21-20, with 9:17 left in the first half. The teams continued to trade baskets, with Lithgow hitting back-to-back three-pointers to put Castleton up by two at 30-28. WestConn then went on a 9-0 run over a two-minute stretch to push their lead to 37-30, a run that was finally stopped by a pair of free throws from Justin Schwarzbeck. The half concluded with the Wolves holding a 39-34 advantage.

The second half began with WestConn surging on a 14-4 run to build a 53-38 lead. Will Radcliff was the bright spot for Castleton during this stretch, scoring all four of the Spartans' points. A jumper from Troy Butler halted the Wolves' momentum, and the Spartans slowly started to close the gap. Three-pointers from Butler and Lithgow cut the deficit to 69-62 with 6:24 remaining, keeping Castleton's hopes alive.

However, despite their efforts, the Spartans could not complete the comeback as WestConn re-extended its lead to 15 points, ultimately claiming an 87-72 victory.

Lithgow had the best day of his career as a Spartan, leading the squad in scoring with 23 points as he went 6-for-9 from distance. He also added four rebounds, four assists and two steals to the stat sheet.

Butler (11) and Radcliff (10) were the only other Spartans to score in the double-digits. Radcliff had a team-best four offensive boards and two blocks.

It was Tray Blount that led his squad in rebounding with his six grabs, four defensive and two offensive.

The Spartans will look to bounce back when they host No. 24 Keene State for an LEC contest at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.