The Middlebury men's basketball team outlasted Trinity in a triple-overtime thriller in Pepin Gym on Friday night. The Panthers edged the Bantams 82-77 to improve to 15-3 (5-1 NESCAC). Middlebury is home again on Saturday, entertaining Connecticut College at 3:00 p.m., while Trinity (10-5, 1-2) plays at Williams at the same time.
 
The Panthers jumped out to a 6-2 lead at the 16:24 mark with four points coming from Sam Stevens. The Bantams responded with a 7-0 run capped by a layup from Donald Jorden Jr. at the 12:07 mark to give Trinity a 9-6 edge. Nash Goldman capped a 9-3 Middlebury burst with a three pointer to give the hosts a 15-12 edge with 8:12 remaining. Knotted 18-18, the Panthers rattled off six-unanswered points to take a 24-18 advantage with 1:01 showing on the clock. The Bantams closed out the half with a 5-0 spurt to cut the deficit to one (24-23). 
 
Trailing 34-31 with 13:57 showing on the clock in the second stanza, Middlebury went on a 7-0 run to take a 38-34 lead. Trinity responded by scoring 13 of the next 15 points, taking a 47-40 advantage with 6:09 to go in the frame. The Panthers battled back, pulling even at 49-49 with a dunk from Alex Sobel with 4:15 left. Tied at 53 points apiece, Stevens converted a pair of free throws and a layup to give Middlebury a 57-53 edge with 20 seconds left in regulation. Will Dorion made a layup for Trinity five seconds later, before D.J. Smith tallied a pair of charity tosses in the final seconds to send the contest into overtime.
 
The first extra session was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team able to take a sizeable lead. The Bantams had a chance to end the game with 14 seconds left, but Smith went 1 for 2 at the stripe, tying the game 66-66.
 
During the second overtime, a pair of charity tosses from Dorion gave Trinity a 73-70 edge with 1:37 left on the clock. Middlebury's David Brennan went 1 for 2 at the stripe, before Stevens tallied two free throws to knot the game at 73 points apiece and force a third extra session.
 
The Panthers opened the final frame with four-straight points, taking a 77-73 lead with 3:57 to go. Middlebury increased the lead to five (79-74) with a pair of foul shots from Stevens with just 44 ticks left on the clock. Trailing 81-77 with 24 seconds left, Trinity had a chance to cut the deficit to one but were unable to connect from beyond the arc. Jaden Bobbett secured the win with a free throw in the waning seconds, making it an 82-77 victory for the Panthers.
 
Osher led all players with 26 points, while Stevens recorded a double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Sobel nearly recorded a triple-double, tallying 11 points, 11 boards and a career-high seven blocks. Brennan pulled down 11 boards and chipped in with nine points for Middlebury. 
 
The Bantams were paced by Dorion's 20 points, while Jorden Jr. recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Smith recorded nine points and nine boards for Trinity.