The Middlebury men's basketball team came up short 83-67 against visiting Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon. Both teams wrap up the regular season with a pair of games next weekend. The Panthers (16-4, 6-2) play first at Bates on Saturday at 3:00 p.m., while the Cardinals (18-3, 6-1) begin the weekend hosting Colby on Friday at 7:00 p.m. 
 
Preston Maccoux hit a three-pointer to start the contest, as Wesleyan jumped out to a 5-2 lead at the 18:58 mark. Middlebury responded with a 13-3 run over the ensuing 3:18 to take a 15-8 advantage. The Cardinals rattled off 12 unanswered points, sparked by a dunk from Jordan James, to go ahead 20-15 at the midpoint of the half. The score was tied three times, before a 5-0 Wesleyan run gave the visitors a 35-30 edge with 3:29 to go. Middlebury answered with a five-point spurt of its own to tie the contest at 35 points apiece with 2:35 left on the clock. The Cardinals closed the half with a 5-0 spurt capped by a dunk from James to give Wesleyan a 40-35 advantage heading into the break. 
 
The Cardinals continued to slowly increase their lead over the opening minutes of the second half, making it 50-42 with a charity toss from Maccoux. Middlebury responded with a 12-2 run, capped on a layup from Thomas Zodda at the 12:18 mark, for a 54-52 edge. Knotted at 60-60 with just under 10 minutes remaining, Wesleyan rattled off a 19-2 run to take a commanding 79-62 lead and put Middlebury out of reach, as the Cardinals secured the 83-67 victory. 
 
Noah Osher and Alex Sobel led the Panthers with 18 points apiece. Sobel grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and added four blocks, while Osher had six boards. Sam Stevens tallied 14 points, while David Brennan chipped in with eight points and grabbed a team-high three steals.  
 
James led all players with 23 points, while pulling down nine rebounds, grabbing four steals and tallying three blocks. Sam Peek recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Maccoux chipped in with 13 points.