The Middlebury men's basketball team came out strong and held off a late comeback attempt by Stevens en route to an 87-74 triumph.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Justin Fuerbacher got the Panthers off to a quick start, rattling off six unanswered points over the initial 50 seconds for the early edge.
• Middlebury continued the momentum, extending the advantage to 17-6 on a layup from Kuba Cwalina at the 14:47 mark.
• With 8:06 remaining in the half, Cwalina gave the visitors their biggest lead of the stanza (32-17) with a shot from beyond the arc.
• The Ducks responded with a 5-0 burst, capped by a hook shot from Evan Gutowski, to pull within 10 points at the 3:33 mark.
• Both sides went back-and-forth in the final minutes, before a layup by Jackson McKersie put the Panthers ahead 42-31 at the break.
• Stevens slowly chipped away at the deficit, slicing the lead to seven (47-40) on a jumper from Gutowski with just under five minutes elapsed.
• Middlebury answered with a 13-4 run, taking a commanding 60-44 advantage with 12:35 remaining. Cwalina highlighted the span with six points.
• With 9:41 on the clock, the Ducks tallied 12 of the next 17 points, including eight points from Tommy Scholl, to close the gap to eight (68-60) with 5:20 left.
• Stevens was forced to foul down the stretch, allowing the Panthers to go a perfect  10-for-10 at the charity stripe to secure the 87-74 victory. 

NOTES

• Cwalina led the Middlebury offense with a season-high 23 points and matched his career-best with six made three-pointers.
• Dominic Ducree and McKersie each had strong outings off the bench, combining for 22 points and eight rebounds.
• Sawyer Ramey set a new career mark with eight boards. Six of those came on the defensive end
• This marked the sixth meeting between the teams, with Middlebury claiming its fifth-straight triumph in the series. 

The Panthers travel to Plattsburgh State on Tuesday for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off.