Senior Ian Passino tossed in a game-high 15 points in the Badgers 62-53 loss at Castleton on Monday night

CASTLETON, Vt. - The Castleton State College men's basketball team earned a hard-fought 62-53 win over visiting Johnson State College in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) action Monday evening at Glenbrook Gymnasium.

The Spartans (11-7, 6-1) limited Johnson State to just 22 first-half points in building a 10-point lead at halftime and held on for their fifth-straight win. The Badgers fall to 4-13, 1-6.

David Cochrane (Virginia Beach, Va.) scored 10 points off the bench to lead nine Spartans in the scoring column. Dammy Mustapha (Bellows Falls, Vt.), Jared Paul (Tampa, Fla.) and Mark Comstock (Rutland, Vt.) each had nine.

Ian Passino (Peru, N.Y.) tossed in a game high 15 points on 4-of-12 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers for the Badgers. Rob Key (New Britain, Conn.) added 12 points and six rebounds while Alen Turan (Essex, Vt.) added eight points and eight rebounds.

Castleton took its first lead of the contest on a Matt Cooney (Washingtonville, N.Y.) lay-up with 14 minutes and 29 seconds remaining in the first half, and never relinquished it, although the Badgers never trailed by more than 11 throughout. The Spartans were able to pull away with a 7-1 run over the final three minutes before halftime, pushing the lead to 32-22.

Johnson State sliced into the lead in the second half, and kept it to single digits for the entire second half. A Billy Boyd (Hardwick, Vt.) lay-up cut the deficit to 48-47 with four minutes and 19 seconds remaining, but Castleton answered with seven-straight points, including a three-point play from Paul to seal the win.

Both teams face a pair of conference opponents this weekend, with Castleton traveling to Thomas (6 p.m. Firday) and University of Maine-Farmington (4 p.m. Saturday) and the Badgers hosting Husson (6 p.m. Friday) and Maine Maritime (4 p.m. Saturday).