The Middlebury men's basketball team won its fifth-straight contest, topping New England College 67-62 on Saturday. The Panthers snapped a four-game winning streak for the Pilgrims (5-5) while improving to 7-2. Middlebury returns to action on Tuesday when it heads to Plattsburgh State for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. 
 
The Panthers opened the game with a 12-1 run over the initial 3:59, capped on a layup from Alex Sobel. All of the points during the span came from Sobel (seven) and Sam Stevens (five). New England College slowly chipped away at the deficit, cutting the lead to four (17-13) with a free throw from Kyle Inglis at the midpoint of the half. Middlebury responded with a six-point spurt, increasing the advantage to 23-13 with 7:54 remaining. The Pilgrims wouldn't go away, answering with a 12-1 run, taking its first lead of the game at 25-24 with 3:13 left on the clock. Knotted at 30 points apiece, the Panthers rattled off seven unanswered points to finish the first half with a 37-30 lead. 
 
The game was close in the early going of the second stanza, before a three-pointer from Michael Tavilla tied the contest 44-44 with 12:34 remaining. The Pilgrims slowly increased their lead, taking their largest advantage (55-46) at the 9:40 mark on a layup from Inglis. Middlebury responded with an 11-2 run, tying the contest 57-57 on a jumper from Noah Osher with just over five minutes to go. The game was tied twice more, but Stevens converted all five free throws down the stretch to secure the 67-62 victory for the Panthers.
 
Stevens led all players with 21 points and went 8-11 at the charity stripe. Sobel recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 20 points and a career-high 19 rebounds. David Brennan also had a double-double, tallying 12 points and pulling down 11 boards. 
 
Calvin Cheek paced New England College with 20 points, nine rebounds and a game-high seven steals. Inglis tallied 18 points and four steals, while Tavilla chipped in with nine points and seven boards.