Johnson State dropped a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) match to Castleton State 65-48 Tuesday night in Carter Gymnasium. Johnson falls to 5-7 in the NAC (5-12 overall) while Castleton improves to 12-1 in the NAC (16-4 overall).

Johnson St. jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first three minutes and and then quickly made it 10-4 on a layup at 15:41. However, the Castleton defense locked down and the offense went on a 7-0 run to take an 11-10 lead on a Desroches jumper with 11:48 left. O'Sullivan gave the Spartans a 19-14 advantage at 8:00 and then hit a layup to jumpstart a 6-0 run over the next three minutes for a 25-17 lead with 5:39 left. The teams traded baskets over the final five minutes, with a free throw from O'Sullivan providing a 32-23 lead at the break. 

Castleton opened the second half on an 11-3 run to pull in front 43-26 on a Desroches triple at 15:59. The Spartans continued to roll and just over six minutes later made it a 50-30 contest on another Desroches shot from beyond the arc with 9:36 left. Castleton eventually extended its lead as high as 25, 60-35, on a pair of free throws by Beatty, before finishing with the 17-point victory. 

Kasey DeGreenia led the Badgers with 10 points and five rebounds while Brittany Roberson recorded ten points and four boards. Ashley Goddard added four points, nine rebounds and two steals off the bench. 

Megan O'Sullivan had 26 points for the Spartans, while grabbing three rebounds and two blocks. Jade Desroches added 18 points, nine rebounds and three assists while freshman Amanda Beatty chipped in with a career-high ten rebounds, three points and one block. Lindsay Sabo scored just eight points but recorded six rebounds, four assists and two steals. 

Johnson travels to Maine for a pair of weekend games against NAC opponents Thomas College and Maine Farmington. Castleton will host Green Mountain on Saturday.