NEW LONDON, N.H. – The Colby-Sawyer men's basketball team picked up their fourth win of the 2023-24 campaign on Tuesday defeating Vermont State University - Castleton by a 78-64 final. 

Rapid Recap:

• The Chargers jumped ahead 5-2 after a junior Bullen Taban (Phoenix, Ariz.) layup and a trifecta by junior Jaquan Mosley (Deep Run, N.C.). Colby-Sawyer continued to control the game as five-straight by Mosley pushed the lead to 10-5, before another finish by junior Chaz Cullum (Omaha, Neb.) got the lead to seven points. After a flurry by the Spartans the Chargers fought back with a 8-0 run sparked by four points and an assist by junior Cha'Mar Martin (Columbia, S.C.). Mosley's fourth triple of the first half extended the lead to 26-14 with 8:27 in the first half. Castleton battled back using a 17-13 run over the final eight minutes to cut the lead to 39-31 headed into halftime. 
• Junior Mike Joanou (Burbank, Calif.) started off the second half with a jumper, followed by a three-pointer by junior Nick Grant (Houston, Texas) to extend the lead back to 44-33. A triple by Scott Lampron kept the Spartans in it cutting the lead to 46-38, but another finish by Mosley kept the lead in double-digits. The Spartans hung around with the game at 49-40 with 15:13 to play, but a 7-0 spurt by the Chargers led by Joanou pushed the lead to 16 points with 11 minutes to play. A key steal and flush by sophomore Sadiq Abdullahi (Homestead, Fla.) sparked some offense for the Chargers followed by a Cullum and-one led the a 63-47 lead with  just over nine minutes to play. The Spartans tried to stay in the game with seven-straight points of their own, but another old fashioned three-point play for Cullum, followed by six-consecutive Charger points by Taban pushed the lead to 72-58 with 3:45 left. Taban and Mosley tallied back-to-back layups to stop the Spartans comeback hopes and put the game away. 

Post Game Press:
"It feels wonderful to pick up this win", said junior Bullen Taban (Phoenix, Ariz.). We were 3-3 headed into tonight and we needed another win to get back on track. I am going to continue to do whatever I can to help the team whether that's rebounding, defending, finishing."

Inside the Numbers:

• Taban led the offense with a double-double registering 17 points (7-10 FG, 3-4 FT) and 13 rebounds to go with three rejections. Mosley tallied 20 points (8-15 FG, 4-9 3PT), nine rebounds and two steals. Cullum registered 14 points (6-12 FG, 2-2 FT), three assists and two boards. Abdullahi added six points (3-7 FG, 0-2 3PT, 0-1 FT), six rebounds and a career-high four steals. 
• Joe Russell led the Spartans with 14 points (7-18 FG, 0-2 3PT), eight rebounds and three steals. 
• Colby-Sawyer pushed the pace with 24 fast break points and 23 points off of turnovers, while Castleton had 11 fast break points and nine points off of turnovers. 

Up Next: 
The Chargers will have their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game against Albertus Magnus in New London with a 3:00 PM start. 

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