The 12th-ranked Middlebury men's basketball team capped its first-semester play off with a 76-53 triumph over visiting Stevens. The Panthers enter winter break riding a three-game winning streak, with each of those coming this week by double digits.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Middlebury came out of the gates strong, rattling off 11-unanswered points over the initial 3:08. 
• The Ducks cut the deficit back down to single digits (13-4) with a layup from Jack Spellman at the 15:22 mark.
• A three-pointer from Sam Stevens sparked a 7-0 run for the Panthers, increasing their advantage to 20-4 with 12:23 left in the stanza.
• Stevens responded with a four-point spurt, but Middlebury tallied 11-straight points to take a 31-8 lead at the 8:14 mark. 
• The Panthers continued to extend their advantage, taking their biggest lead of the half (43-15) on a jumper from Jackson McKersie with 2:35 left on the clock. 
• The Ducks tallied five of the final seven points, bringing the score to 45-20 at the break.
• The teams traded baskets in the early going of the second half, before Middlebury went on a 10-0 run to make it 61-27. The span was sparked by back-to-back threes from Stevens and Jaden Bobbett.
• Trailing 66-32 with less than 10 minutes remaining, the Ducks went on an 18-2 run to trim the deficit down under 20 points (68-50). 
• Dean Smith sparked the final spurt for the Panthers with a shot from beyond the arc with 2:25 remaining, as Middlebury secured the 76-53 triumph. 

NOTES

• Alex Sobel set a career record with seven assists in the win, nearly reaching a triple-double with 12 points and 13 boards.
• The two programs met for the third time, with the Panthers winning each of those. Today's contest had the largest margin of victory at 23 points, with the last two meetings being won by exactly 10.