After trailing most of the game, the Castleton men’s basketball team stormed back against Wentworth of Boston last Thursday to win their first ever ECAC tournament game off a dramatic tip in with only four seconds remaining.      The high of the win would be short lived however, as the Spartans lost their next game at Westfield State in the ECAC semi-final game.
With just 12 seconds left on the clock, CSC’s Tyler Ackley received the inbounds pass and drove past his man down the lane and threw up a desperation shot with time running out.
“Coach just told me that if we didn’t get the look we wanted, to flash to the ball and I just attacked from there,” said Ackley, describing the last moments of the game.
The ball would rattle off the rim but would be tipped in on the rebound by a high flying Dammy Mustapha with just four seconds left on the clock to put the Spartans up 80-79.      
“I knew we needed a basket at all costs, so I just crashed the boards like coach always says, and I happened to get a hand on the ball,” said Mustapha.      
The Spartans would hold on for the first ECAC playoff victory in team history knocking off the no. 5 seed in the tournament and moving the team to a record of 17-12 with the victory.      
Castleton went on to face the number one seed in the tournament, Westfield State, in the semi-finals of the ECAC tournament. The Spartan’s battled in the first half, down by 37-34 at halftime, but strong play from Westfield overpowered the Spartans in the second half, losing with a final score of 88-72.  
Logan White led the Spartan’s in scoring with 19 points.       
“We had a game plan that we wanted to execute going into the game and we did a good job in the first half,” said White on the loss. “We knew the game was going to be about getting defensive stops and we weren’t able to do that in the second half.”
Castleton wraps up its season with a record of 17-13. As the Spartans will lose the skills of seniors Mark Comstock, Mustapha, Dave Brandt and Corey Kimball, they look to move forward are looking to rebuild for next season.