The Middlebury men's basketball team (1-1) came up short in its home opener on Tuesday, falling 86-77 to Keene State (3-0). The Panthers travel to Bridgewater State for the BSU Cave Classic Tip-Off Tournament, squaring off against Anna Maria on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Owls host Springfield on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. 
 
Middlebury jumped out to an 8-2 lead, capped with a pair of threes from Nash Goldman. Keene State knotted the game 14-14 at the 10:57 mark on a jumper from Ryan Donahue. The game was tied five times before the Owls went on a 10-2 run, taking a 38-30 lead with 1:24 remaining in the half. Nate Siow highlighted the run with six points. The Panthers cut the deficit to three (38-35) with a layup from David Brennan and a shot from beyond the arc from Sam Stevens to close out the half. 
 
Out of the intermission, Keene State scored 10 of the first 11 points of the stanza to take a 48-36 advantage. Middlebury cut the lead to seven (51-44) with back-to-back three pointers from Noah Osher. A pair of charity tosses at the 12:04 mark from Octavio Brito extended the Owls' lead to 57-48. The Panthers slowly chipped away at the deficit, bringing them within four (68-64) with a jumper from Osher. Sam Stevens converted two free throws with 1:36 remaining to make it 74-72, but that was as close as Middlebury would get, as Keene State eased to an 86-77 victory.
 
Alex Sobel led the Panthers, recording a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds. He also had a game-high six blocks. Stevens tallied 17 points and Osher chipped in with 16. 
 
Jean Baptiste tallied 21 points for Keene State, while James Anonzie had 16 points and eight rebounds. Brito finished with 15 points in the game.