A 7-0 run by Middlebury covering 2:38 late in the second half Sunday turned a 67-67 tie into a 74-67 lead, as the Panthers earned a 78-69 NESCAC victory over Bowdoin in Pepin Gymnasium. Before Sunday's game, which was moved back a day because of weather-related issues, the Panthers honored the program's three seniors. Middlebury (14-8, 6-2), who moves into a second-place tie with Amherst, is idle until it hits the road next Friday for a 7:00 p.m. game with the Purple & White, while Bowdoin (9-10, 2-6) hosts Bates on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

A layup by Middlebury's Henry Pendergast put the hosts on the scoreboard at the 18:22 mark. Bowdoin answered with a 12-4 run over a stretch of 3:58, capped off by three free throws from Lucas Hausman, taking a 12-6 lead with 14:24 remaining. The Polar Bears secured their largest lead of the game with a seven-point edge (18-11) on a jumper from Hausman at the 7:39 mark. Middlebury responded by rattling off a 10-0 run that took 3:09 off the clock, capped by a Nick Tarantino fast-break layup on an assist by Jake Brown, for a 21-18 lead.

The teams exchanged baskets during the next few possessions, including a three-point field goal from Bowdoin's Liam Farley, as the Polar Bears pulled to within one (26-25) on a jumper from Jack Simonds with at the 2:37 mark. Middlebury closed the opening half scoring seven of the final nine points, including a layup as the buzzer sounded by Brown, for a 33-27 bulge at the intermission.

Out of the break, Bowdoin found its shooting touch, knocking down six of its first eight shots from the floor as well as 2-3 free throws, tying the game at 41-41 with 15:55 left on a Hausman layup. Matt Palecki and Hausman both scored seven points for the visitors during the stretch.

Middlebury stopped the Bowdoin momentum on a layup from Adisa Majors, a basket that started an 18-5 run for the hosts over 4:35 of action. Hilal Dahleh finished the run with a fast-break layup, giving Middlebury its largest lead of the game at 13 (59-46) with 11:20 remaining.   

Bowdoin clawed all the way back, including 10-straight points from Simonds, to tie the contest at 67-67 with 3:27 showing on the clock via an old-fashioned three-point play by Hausman before Middlebury reeled off its decisive run. St. Amour knocked down a three-pointer and Zach Baines converted a pair of fast-break opportunities, as the final one featured a two-handed dunk on a nifty bounce pass from Brown. With the Polar Bears forced to foul, Daly and St. Amour both canned their two charity tosses to seal the win.

St. Amour led the Panthers with 26 points, including four threes, to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. Baines came off the bench for nine points and five rebounds, while Brown also had nine points and dished out a team-best seven assists. Daly had a nice all-around showing of eight points, five rebounds, four helpers and three steals. As a team, Middlebury held a 45-31 advantage on the boards and the bench outscored the Polar Bear reserves, 29-7.

Hausman, the NESCAC's leader scorer entering Sunday's play, finished with 29 points including going 10-12 at the line. Simonds ended his day with 23 points and knocked down a trio of threes. Palecki had seven points and tied for team-high honors with six rebounds and four assists.