The Middlebury men's basketball team tipped off its home slate with a thrilling 73-72 triumph from Pepin Gymnasium. The Panthers trailed by 14 (70-56) with 6:36 left in the second half, but tallied 17 of the final 19 points, capped by Dominick Ducree's three-point shot from the corner, to seal the come-from-behind triumph. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Deadlocked at 5-5 just 1:52 into action, the Garnet Chargers tallied the next six points over a span of 4:17 for an 11-5 advantage on a bucket by Trace Moffitt.
• Middlebury answered with a 17-4 spurt, grabbing a 22-15 lead on a shot from beyond the arc by Ducree with 9:26 showing on the clock.
• Union cut the deficit to three (22-19) when Christian Dufort converted a layup two minutes later.
• The Panthers quickly secured their largest lead of the contest at 28-19 on threes from Kuba Cwalina and Henry Morrison.
• The Garnet Chargers posted 19 of the last 25 points of the stanza, highlighted by 11 from Jack Plesser, for a 38-34 edge at the break.
• Union continued that momentum, racing out to a nine-point advantage (45-36) on a Plesser jumper in the paint 1:53 into the second half.
• The hosts clawed their way back into the contest, rattling off a 12-4 run covering three minutes of action. A dunk by Ian Murray cut the deficit to one at 49-48.
• The visitors responded, scoring 15 of the next 18 points for a 64-51 advantage on a Plesser driving layup at the midway point of the half.
• The visitors maintained a double-digit lead, seeing it grow to as many as 14 (70-56) on a three by Tanner Tedesco with 6:36 remaining.
• Middlebury began its charge when Evan Flaks drove to the bucket and scored on an acrobatic layup on the Panthers' next trip down the floor. 
• Plesser canned a turnaround jumper at the 3:28 mark, pushing the Union lead back to double digits at 72-62.
• Ducree knocked down a pair of long-distance attempts sandwiched around a driving layup from Morrison to pull Middlebury behind 72-70 with 2:19 left.
• The Garnet Chargers had a chance to take a four-point edge with 27 seconds remaining, but the Panther defense locked down Plesser and forced him into a tough missed attempt that was grabbed by Sawyer Ramey.
• Middlebury worked the ball around the perimeter, looking for the go-ahead bucket. Ducree gathered the ball in the right corner before juking a defender and sinking a three with 10 ticks remaining for a 73-72 lead.
• Following a Union timeout, Cade Furse had his three from the left wing rattle out as the Panthers secured the thrilling triumph.

NOTES

• Ducree finished with a career-best 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting and 7-of-11 from beyond the arc in 26 minutes of action. 
• Murray concluded with a solid all-around effort consisting of 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
• Morrison contributed career-best outputs with a near double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down eight boards.
• Mark Newell helped the Panthers on the glass, securing a season-high 10 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.
• Russell L. Reilly Head Coach of Men's Basketball Matt Goldsmith collects his first win at Middlebury.
• The programs met for the 85th time and the first since December 4, 2010. Middlebury has claimed victories in the last seven matchups in the series.

The Panthers return to competition on Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. road contest against Stevens.