Middlebury opened up a tight game in the second half, pulling away with an 83-69 win at St. Joseph's College of Vermont. The ninth-ranked Panthers shot .509 from the floor and blocked 15 shots in the game on their way to the victory.

Middlebury led 12-5 early, but St. Joseph's hung tough, cutting the lead to one on a hoop from KJay Jackson at the 12:05 mark. Middlebury maintained its first half lead, taking a 41-36 advantage into the halftime break.

Middlebury led by as many as nine early in the second half, with the Fighting Saints coming within one on a hoop from Evan Jobst at 11:45, part of a 6-0 spurt. The Panthers followed with a 6-0 run, all points coming from Andrew Locke, including a dunk and a tip-in.

Ryan Sharry followed with four points, including a thunderous dunk from the baseline before a hoop from Brendan Rios cut the Middlebury lead to 69-61 with 4:25 remaining. Middlebury followed with a decisive 14-2 run to put the game out of reach, taking a 20-point lead with 1:24 left. St. Joes closed the contest on a 6-0 spurt to make it an 83-69 final.

Locke led all scorers with 17 points, nine boards and six blocks on 6-10 shooting from the floor. Sharry added 12 points and five blocks on 4-5 shooting, while Ryan Wholey also scored a dozen, going 5-7 from the floor. Jake Wolfin scored nine with four assists, Jamal Davis netted nine with three blocks, while Joey Kizel scored eight points with four assists.

Jobst and Jamie Rajda led St. Joes with 13 apiece, Rahiem Smalis scored 11, while Jackson added 10.

Box Score