Men's Basketball falls to Castleton in season opener 94-82
North Adams, MA- The visiting Castleton University men's basketball team used an explosive second half to pull away late from the MCLA Trailblazers and earn a 94-82 win on opening night. The Spartans (1-0) were led by Joe Alamprese's team best 19 point night. MCLA starts the season at 0-1.
The Trailblazers led 37-34 at halftime as both sides returned to the court after lenghty layoffs due to the ongoing pandemic. In the second half, MCLA led by as many as seven points and with 9:01 remaining, they led 70-63 after a pair of Tyler Showers free throws. From there, Castleton took over.
The Spartans used a 14-2 spurt to seize control and lead 77-72 following Alamprese's pair of free throws. MCLA would answer with another bucket from Showers, but Castleton stemmed the tide with back to back triples, one from John Walsh and the other from Alex Blackmore, to take a commanding 83-74 lead with under four minutes remaining.
MCLA got within six after a Dylan Morris-Gray three, but could not get any closer as Castleton extended the margin to double digits and pulled away.
Alamprese had a nice night for Castleton with 19 points on 7-20 shooting. He added 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Jackson Atty collected 16 points which included a trio of triples to pace the team. Remy Brown ended with 15 points and 4 boards. The Spartans shot 37% from the floor and committed only six turnovers on the night.
For MCLA, Morris-Gray led all scorers with 22 points. He was 7-15 from the floor in defeat. Hayden Bird ended with 16 points but did knock down three triples. Reece Racette had a nice floor game for MCLA with 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals.
The Trailblazers were hampered by 20 turnovers on the night and shot 39%.
MCLA is off until Tuesday when they continue play up at Norwich.