The Middlebury men's basketball team used a pair of second-half surges to down Bates 69-52 on Saturday afternoon in Maine. Both teams conclude the regular season on Sunday. The Panthers (17-4, 7-2) travel to Tufts, who is also 7-2 in conference play, for a 1:00 p.m. tipoff, while the Bobcats (9-10, 2-7) host #12 Williams at 2:00 p.m. 
 
Middlebury went on an 11-2 run over the opening 4:44 with eight points coming from Sam Stevens. Charley Moore pushed the Panther advantage to double-digits with a pair of charity tosses and a layup, making it 18-7 with 11:07 left on the clock. Trailing 22-11, Bates rattled off 10 of the next 12 points, cutting the deficit to 24-21 with 3:32 to go in the half. Noah Osher converted two free throws to extend the advantage to five (26-21). The Bobcats answered, sandwiching an Osher layup with back-to-back treys, to cut the margin to one (28-27) with 1:48 to go. Stephen Baxter went two-for-two at the stripe to give Bates its first lead of the game, 29-28, with 1:19 left on the clock. A Thomas Zodda layup in the final minute put Middlebury back on top (30-29) heading into the break.
 
Jahmir Primer sank a shot from beyond the arc with 44 seconds expired to give the Bobcats a 32-30 edge. Middlebury answered with a 6-0 burst, capped on a layup from Alex Sobel, to make it 36-32 at the 16:00 mark. The teams went back-and-forth before a three pointer by Baxter put Bates in front 45-43 at the midpoint of the stanza. The Panthers responded with a 12-0 run, taking a double-digit lead (55-45) with 7:04 remaining. A layup and a free throw by Primer cut the Bobcat deficit to eight (60-52) with just over five minutes to go in regulation. Middlebury answered with the deciding 9-0 run over the final 5:04 to secure the 69-52 victory. 
 
Sobel recorded his 15th double-double of the season, leading all players with 20 points, while grabbing 11 rebounds. His 11 rebounds move him into fifth on Middlebury's single-season list with 259 boards. David Brennan tallied his sixth double-double, recording 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Stevens tallied 14 points and pulled down six boards during the win.
 
Baxter paced Bates with 19 points, going six-for-six at the charity stripe. Primer had 13 points, five rebounds and a game-high three steals, while Kenny Aruwajoye and Stephen Ward each grabbed seven boards.