Box Score CASTLETON, Vt. – Sophomore forward Julian Sanchez (Willimantic) set the tone with 15 points and eight rebounds in the first half, and sophomore guards Esco Greene (New Britain) and Elijah Jean-Guillaume (New Haven) helped the Warriors maintain the momentum by scoring ten points each  in the second half to lift the Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team to a 75-65 Little East Conference victory over VTSU Castleton Thursday afternoon at Glenbrook Gymnasium.
 
After finishing 3-10 away from home last year, Eastern (10-4, 2-4 LEC) is now 8-1 on the road this year after winning for the 11^th time in 13 outings in the series with Castleton (2-12, 1-5 LEC).
 
Playing without one backcourt and one frontcourt starter who average 30 minutes a game, Eastern got 20 points and ten rebounds off the bench, primarily in the forms of Jean-Guillaume and sophomore forward Jeremiah Graham (Jacksonville, FL). Jean-Guillaume finished with 12 points on 6-of-9 field goal shooting in 17 minutes and Graham had six points and three rebounds in 23 minutes.
 
Eastern never trailed after Greene's three-point field goal out of a media timeout five minutes into action, upped the lead to double digits (24-13) with nine minutes left in the half after a steal and breakaway layup by Greene and two free throws from sophomore Cedrick Similien (Norwich) set up by junior Dominick Dao's (Terryville) steal.
 
The Warriors built an insurmountable 19-point halftime lead (that later crested at 20 a minute into the second half) by closing out the first half on a 13-3 run, Sanchez scoring seven of those points, and the team holding the Spartans scoreless from the field and to just three free throws (on seven attempts) over the final 6:33 of the half.
 
Despite taking that 20-point lead, Eastern could not entirely shake the hosts over the final 19 minutes of the game, thanks in large part to 20 points from sophomore guard Troy Butler. Greene  scored his ten second-half points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor, while Jean-Guillaume was 5-of-8 in the second half and grabbed four rebounds.
 
With Eastern leading by 16 with seven minutes left, Dao was whistled for his fourth personal foul. After a pair of free throws cut the Eastern lead to 14, Jean-Guillaume connected on a jumper from the top of the key as the shot clock expired to restore a 16-point lead (65-49) with six minutes left. Minutes later, Jean-Guillaume came up big again by scoring alone on a long rebound of a missed Castleton three-point attempt after a steal and layup by Butler allowed the Spartans to close to 13 with five minutes left.
 
With time winding down, another steal and layup by Butler pulled Castleton as close as it would come in the second half  (10 points), but Sanchez answered with a short bank shot to make it 69-57 with two minutes left and Greene all but closed the books with a left-side drive off a pass from Dao that made it a 13-point margin with 1:30 left.
 
Sanchez posted his fourth double-double in the last eight games (and led the team in rebounding for the tenth time this year) with  21 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Greene tossed in 15 points (6-of-12 FG), Dao 13 points of 4-of-8 shooting, five assists, four rebounds and three steals and Jean-Guillaume 12 points and five rebounds. The Warriors shot 45.2 percent from the floor and had a +9 advantage in rebounding. Before fouling out with 3:28 left and the Warriors up by 13, senior forward Sheriff Bilewu (Waterbury) grabbed eight rebounds (seven in the first half) and blocked a shot in 22 minutes in a starting role.
 
Butler finished with 25 points for Castleton and 6-foot-6 inch junior forward Will Radcliff had 11 points and seven rebounds.
 
Eastern hosts Plymouth State University (9-5, 3-3 LEC) in an LEC contest Saturday 1 p.m. The Warriors have won five straight and 12 of 13 in the all-time series.