JOHNSON, Vt. (February 15, 2011) -  Castleton State College used a chaotic defensive effort to force 21 Johnson State College turnovers to key a 87-76 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) men's basketball victory Tuesday night at Carter Gym.  The Spartans move to 14-10 overall and 9-4 in the NAC while Johnson falls to 6-17, 3-10 NAC.

Castleton received outstanding play from junior guard Greg Hughes (West Rutland, Vt./West Rutland) who finished with a game-high 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting while sophomore wing Mark Comstock (Rutland, Vt./Rutland) recorded 20 points and five rebounds.  Junior Jared Paul (Tampa, Fla./Armwood) was the final Spartan in double-figures with 11 points.

Johnson was led by sophomore guard Andy Bousono (Philadelphia, Penn./Nueva Esperanza) and his 18 points while senior Rob Key (New Britain, Conn./New Britain) notched a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.  Senior Ian Passino (Peru, N.Y./Peru) added 14 points and six assists while junior Alen Turan (Essex, Vt./Essex) scored a dozen and grabbed seven boards.

The Spartans shot a eye-popping 70% (19-27) in the second half to preserve a nine-point halftime lead.

Johnson State will step out of conference play for the final time on Thursday at 7:00 pm in a re-scheduled game against Paul Smith's College while Castleton will wrap up their regular-season with a game at Lyndon State College on Saturday at 2:00 pm.