The Castleton State College men’s basketball team returned home from their Valentine’s Day weekend road trip with a pair of victories sweeter than chocolate.

On Friday against Thomas, Castleton’s newcomer Steve Rosemond put up a career high 32 points, 11 rebounds and three assists to help his team to a nail biting 130-129 overtime victory.

This win extended the Spartan winning streak to five straight as they improved to 16-7 overall and 14-2 in conference play.

Both teams went back and forth in the first half and entered the half even at 64 each. The battle continued and each team traded buckets until they were knotted up at 106 with just under a minute to play.  

Tyler Ackley was fouled and sent to the line for a pair of free throws. Ackley nailed the first but missed the second, which was recovered by the Terriers who threw up a 3-pointer for the tie with 5 seconds left. The shot was missed but luckily was recovered with an offensive rebound by the Terriers. Levi Barnes put up another desperate 3-pointer and sent the game into overtime.

Ackley commented on the strategy going into extra time.

“We knew we had to take it one possession at a time and make sure we played solid defense, got rebounds and took smart shots,” Ackley said.

In extra time Castleton came out to a 116-111 lead early in the period. Thomas continued to fight and came within 3-points with under a minute to go.

Castleton’s Troy Davine nailed a free throw and a layup from Rosemond gave them the 129-123 lead. Just a few moments later the Spartans walk to the locker room victorious.

In Farmington, the Spartans got off to a slow start and were down 7 minutes into the game. The Beavers gained a 15-point lead before Troy Davine nailed a three to cut the deficit to 48-36 at halftime.

Down just a single point later on, Castleton’s Logan White drilled a 3-pointer to give his team the lead. Their defense did the rest and the Spartans ended the weekend 2-0 and a 98-92 win over UMF. 

Spartan’s Logan White and Tyler Ackley combined 6-for-6 on free throws and even though they were Ackley’s only points on the night, they were crucial.

“I knew I had to make them to make up for missing the one Friday night,” Ackley said.

Castleton improves to 17-7 overall and 15-2 in the NAC conference. They end their regular season next Saturday at home against Green Mountain for senior day.