The 13th-ranked Middlebury men's basketball team utilized a balanced scoring output on Friday, easing to an 80-60 triumph in Pepin Gymnasium. Panther senior forward Alex Sobel scored 12 points during the victory, becoming the 26th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau for his career (1,003).
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Middlebury gained the early advantage at 9-2, fueled by a pair of three-point field goals from Jaden Bobbett.
• The Polar Bears chipped away at the deficit, cutting it to one (14-13) on a jumper in the paint by Will Logue with 13:02 left in the first half.
• The Panthers rattled off an 11-0 run covering 2:43 of play. A pair of free throws by Sobel capped the spurt for a 25-13 lead with 10:19 to go.
• An old-fashioned three-point play from Alex Halpern brought Bowdoin to within eight (28-20) at the 7:54 mark, but the Panthers tallied 11 of the next 13 points to increase their advantage back to double digits.
• A running jumper by Evan Flaks in the final seconds gave Middlebury its largest lead of the stanza at 22 (48-26).
• The Panthers maintained nearly a 20-point advantage for a majority of the second half, securing their biggest margin at 71-45 with 6:12 left on a free throw by Sam Stevens and eased to the 80-60 win.

NOTES

• Nash Goldman finished with a career-high nine points in the victory.
• The Panthers saw 14 different players score against the Polar Bears.
• Friday's meeting was the 56th matchup between Middlebury and Bowdoin, with the Panthers owning a narrow 29-27 edge. Middlebury has won the last eight meetings.