The Middlebury men's basketball team (2-2) fell to Eastern Nazarene 85-75 on Saturday in the championship game of the Cave Classic hosted by Bridgewater State. Next up for the Panthers is a home date with Northern Vermont University – Johnson on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

The game was close throughout the opening 20 minutes with the Lyons (4-3) taking an early 4-0 lead. That proved to be the largest advantage for either team in the first frame. Middlebury's biggest advantage came just past the five-minute mark, as Charley Moore put back an offensive rebound for a 12-9 edge.

Middlebury gained a 24-22 cushion with 3:04 on the clock when Jaden Bobbett sank a layup from in the paint.. Eastern Nazarene finished on a 10-7 run, to take a 32-31 edge into the half.

In the second stanza, the Lyons started strong building their biggest lead at 63-46 just past the midway point. The Panthers chipped away at the deficit and got it to 10 points (67-57) when Noah Osher scored off an assist from Alex Sobel. A traditional three-point play by David Brennan drew Middlebury even closer at 71-64 with 3:11 remaining.

Bobbett sank a free throw with 28 seconds left to cut the difference to 81-75, but Eastern Nazarene converted the final four points from the charity stripe for the 85-75 win.
Sam Stevens, who was named to the all-tournament team for the Panthers, finished with 19 points, while Sobel added 14 and Osher tallied 12. Brennan just missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

For the Lyons, tournament MVP Bernie McGuinness led all players with 29 points, while Nick Manso contributed 17.

Middlebury shot 40.9 percent (27-66) from the floor, while Eastern Nazarene hit on 52.6 percent (30-57). The Panthers held a 43-31 advantage on the glass.