CASTLETON, Vt. - Five different players tallied double figures in scoring as the Western Connecticut State University men's basketball team improved to 21-2 overall and 12-2 in Little East Conference play following an 86-42 victory at Castleton University on Saturday night at Glenbrook Gym.
Senior forward
Jaheim Young (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and sophomore guard
Keeshawn Jones (Middletown, N.Y.) led the way with 15 points each. Rookie guard
Jaeden Carr (Ossining, N.Y.) notched 12, while senior
Ryan Alkins (Queens, N.Y.) and sophomore
Malik Cole (Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in with 10 apiece.
Senior guard
Kendall Robinson (Bellport, N.Y) - who leads WestConn in scoring average at 19.6 points per game - altered his playing style a bit, racking up game-highs of nine rebounds, six assists, and two blocked shots.
The Spartans had just one player reach double figures as John Walsh canned 12 points.
The visitors shot the ball well, hitting 30-of-58 (52 percent) of their shots from the field which included 12-of-30 (40 percent) from three-point land. They also knocked down 14-of-16 (88 percent) shots from the charity stripe.
The WestConn defense was solid all night long, holding Castleton to just 14-of-63 (22 percent) from the floor which consisted of 9-for-42 (21 percent) from beyond-the-arc. The Wolves also dominated the glass, 50-31.
The contest was deadlocked at 8-8 before the winners reeled off a 15-0 run. Alkins ignited the flurry with a pair of free throws before Jones nailed a trifecta off a pretty feed from Robinson, giving WestConn a 23-8 advantage midway thru the first half.
The Spartans would not recover from the barrage. WestConn would head into the locker room at halftime with a 52-18 lead.
It was a similar story in the second half as the Wolves lead ballooned to 44 points when sophomore reserve guard
Kyle Marcello (Manorville, N.Y.) buried a three-pointer to round the count out at 86-42.
Castleton dropped to 3-18 overall and 0-13 in conference play. WestConn - also receiving votes in the latest D3Hoops.com Top 25 poll - will seek to continue its impressive play when they host cross-state archrival Eastern Connecticut in another LEC battle on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.