CASTLETON, Vt. – Maine Maritime Academy men's basketball fell to Castleton on Saturday afternoon, 90-81, despite closing a 27-point deficit to just five points with a little over one minute remaining in the game.

Castleton jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but the Mariners used a Tyler Thayer (Hermon, Maine) three-pointer and a pair of free throws from Tyler Gilson (Thomaston, Maine) to close the gap to 6-5. The Spartans used efficient first half shooting (54.5 percent), including 7-15 from beyond the arc, to enter the halftime with a 51-38 lead.

Maine Maritime came out strong in the second half, controlling the ball for the entire opening minute. Nick Holt (Ellsworth, Maine) sank a three to bring the Mariners within 10, and Thayer scored two from the line to make it 51-43.

The Spartans scored 19 unanswered points to stretch out a 70-43 lead with 12:44 remaining in the game. With 5:01 remaining, Thayer found Jason Hatch (Islesboro, Maine) under the net for a layup, a play that sparked a 17-point run for the Mariners, closing the Spartan lead to 83-79 with a little over a minute remaining.

Maine Maritime sent the Spartans to the line on each of their final possessions, and they responded going 5-6 to close out a 91-80 victory.

Hatch ended the afternoon with a season-high 20 points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals, while teammate Zachary Radcliffe (Rumford, Maine) added a career-high 18 points off the bench, to go with four assists, two rebounds and a steal. Thayer picked up 15 points, four rebounds, four assists, and Holt grabbed 12 points, three assists, three steals and a pair of rebounds. Gilson rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Mariners with 11 points, eight rebounds, a steal and an assist.

Chad Copeland led the Spartans with 20 points, six rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Rob Coloutti added 18 points, six rebounds, and a steal, while Carnelius Green chipped in with 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Casey McGraw grabbed a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Mariners fall to 2-17 on the season and 1-11 in North Atlantic Conference play, while the Spartans improve to 10-8 overall and 8-4 in the NAC.