The CSC Spartan Men’s Basketball team has reeled off three straight wins with a balanced diet of inside paint presence and outside shooting. The Spartans, starting a small four-guard unit, handily defeated the Wildcats of Wheelock College Friday night by a final score of 88-68. Although Wheelock had a clear height advantage, Castleton held its own down low. Senior Chris Young, the only starter listed as a forward, led the team with 24 points and 12 rebounds, eight coming on the offensive end. Senior guard Alden Gregory was also a factor in the paint, hauling in 12 rebounds while chipping in six points and five steals.

While Young and Gregory were working hard inside, the rest of the Spartan men were living it up just outside the three-point line. Guards Joey Farley and Josh Howe both connected for four of seven three point attempts in this game. Howe is Castleton’s leading scorer on the year, averaging 18.9 points per contest.

Farley may be the hottest player on the team as of late, though. He started his first game of the season just last week, against this same Wheelock squad. He made his presence known immediately. He buried 9 of 16 three-point attempts in an easy Castleton win by a score of 93-77. During the course of this lopsided victory, Castleton set a school record with 17 made three-point attempts. They broke the previous record of 15 that was set in 1995 and tied in the Spartans’ second game of this season versus Suffolk.

The next night, playing on the road at Johnson State, Farley continued the trend, draining four more three-pointers as Castleton came away with a 74-62 victory.

It seems as if the Spartans are willing to live and die from beyond the arc. The team has attempted an incredible 502 three-point shots so far this season while their opponents have totaled a mere 386 attempts. While this may seem an excessive number of long bombs, Castleton has made over 40 percent. To put this in context, last years MVP of the NBA, Dirk Nowitzki, made 42 percent of his three-point attempts, his career high.

With their recent three game win streak, the Spartan men have improved their overall record to 12-7 and they are now 5-3 in the NAC. And it looks as if there really is no place like home, as Castleton is 7-1 at Glenbrook Gymnasium on the season.

The Spartans’ next two games are both on the road. They will face off with Maine Maritime on Friday and visit Husson the very next night. The next home game will be Feb. 15 versus Elms College.