The big story for the Castleton men’s basketball team this season has been not only one, but two players cementing themselves in the 1,000 career point club this season. 

Both Scott Lampron and Joe Russell became the 26th and 27th members respectively to reach this feat.

“Joe and Scott have had a major impact on this year’s team. For one, they are great examples of the hard work needed to be a good college player. Both are in the gym every day working to improve their game. They are vocal in practice and rarely have poor practices,” said head coach Paul Culpo.

As the team has seen some ups and downs this season, one thing has been consistent throughout the year, which is the play of both Lampron and Russell. Both are graduate students this season and are the forefront of most of the team’s success. 

Russell is averaging 17.6 points per game, 5.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists while his partner in crime on the court, Lampron, is averaging 14.8 points per game, and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 40 percent from the three-point line. 

“They are very different players in terms of how they score the ball. Scott is a great shooter and has tremendous range, but he can also post up and score inside. Joe is more of a penetrating player that gets to the paint and rim. He can also make jump shots, but he is great at attacking either with the ball or off the ball on back-cuts,” Culpo said.

The duo not only are a duo on the court, but off the court as well, which helps translate to their on-court dominance. 

“Being a teammate with Scott has been great. I transferred to Castleton from a Division 2, scholarship level school and have no doubt that Scott’s work ethic is one of the best I’ve been around. He’s constantly in the gym working with our teammates and leads by example. On a more personal note, we’ve grown to become super close, and I can confidently say that we’ll stay in contact and be brothers for life after the season concludes,” said Russell. 

Lampron agrees.

“Being teammates with Joe has been amazing. Playing alongside someone that shares the same passion and love for the game as myself is something I don’t take for granted. Definitely have gained a relationship that will last a lifetime,” he said.

As the season reaches its final stretch, the duo looks to lead the Spartans to make a push to the playoffs. Currently they sit three games back on the sixth seeded University of Massachusetts Boston with five games left. 

“The rest of the season entails working every day to get better, as we only have five conference games left and we need to win at least three out of our last five games and hope they (UMass Boston) get cold. If nothing else, I want the group to finish the season strong because we’ve worked hard enough throughout the season to have it end on a good note,” Russell said.