Middlebury won its fifth straight game as the fifth-ranked Panthers (21-1, 8-1) defeated Trinity (9-14, 2-7) 66-59 in Pepin Gym. The game had little flow with 52 fouls, 39 turnovers and 58 free throws taken in the contest. Middlebury will wrap up its regular season on Tuesday night when they host sixth-ranked Amherst at 7:00 p.m. A Panther win would leave the top seed in a three-way tie with Amherst, Williams and Middlebury, while a win by the Jeffs would secure them the top slot for the upcoming NESCAC Tournament.

Trinity held a 7-2 lead 3:14 into the game before six straight Middlebury points gave the Panthers an 8-7 lead. The game went back and forth, with the eighth tie of the half coming on a bucket from Trinity's Shay Ajayi with 50 seconds remaining in the half. Joey Kizel answered on the other end for the Panthers as they took a 30-28 lead into the intermission.

Leading by one, Middlebury went on a 10-1 run 1:42 into the second half to take a 43-33 lead with 13:47 remaining. A three from Kizel and one from Nolan Thompson were the key buckets over the 3:30 span.

Trinity answered by scoring 13 of the game's next 15 points to cut the lead to one at 46-45 with 8:22 remaining. George Papadeas scored five points during the comeback, while Jaquann Starks hit a three.

The back and forth continued as the Panthers battled back with an 11-2 run to make it a 10-point game at 57-47 with 4:33 left to play. The Bantams were able to come within five on a hoop from Starks with 3:06 remaining, but the Panthers hung tough down the stretch and emerged with the 66-59 win.

Kizel led the team with 16 points, Peter Lynch scored 14, while Hunter Merryman had a dozen. Thompson added eight points and five boards, while Jake Wolfin had eight points, three assists and two steals.

Starks paced the Bantams with 14 points, while Papadeas scored a dozen with a game-high 14 rebounds.

Box Score