Men’s basketball trying to find their footing

Through a season that has had its ups and downs the Castleton men’s basketball team continues to look to build off each other to try and find success.
“The second half of the season has brought some challenges, but as a program, we feel good in the direction we’re headed. We’ve changed our play style to a more upbeat, faster style of play where everyone sees the floor and gives it all they have for about 1-2 minutes at a time. We’ve seen some success and hope to keep building on that,” said assistant coach Joe Russell.
The Spartans struggled in the first half of the season finding consistent scoring however, with the new addition of Troy Butler on the court the team has seemed to find its offensive spark.
“I was out of basketball for 2 years and I give thanks to coach Culpo who gave me a opportunity to come back and do what I love. We have caught a couple wins in the midst of adjusting to a new system that all the guys are completely new to,” Butler said.
Butler has been a key contributor averaging 16 points a game while shooting over 30 percent from the field. Butlers’ emergence alongside Will Radcliff and Ben Seller has been the tail of the tape of the Spartans offence during the second half stretch of the season.
“The new system gives us a chance to have fun while playing and trust each other to have the backs of your teammates while on the court because of the relentless mindset Coach Culpo, Gibbons, and Russell instilled into us. It’s a honor to share the court with the talented core we have and we’re very confident in pushing through this last stretch of the second half to secure a playoff spot,” Butler said.
The Spartans look at an uphill battle the rest of the season currently sitting on the outside looking in at a playoff spot. With five conference games remaining the Spartans are two games back of the sixth-place spot in the standings which is the cut off for playoffs.
The Spartans look to get on the right track towards playoff on the road at UMass Dartmouth on Saturday February 8.