The Middlebury men's basketball team grinded out a 92-89 road victory over Plattsburgh State on Tuesday evening from Memorial Hall.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Trailing 4-3 early in the opening half, the Panthers rattled off 13 unanswered points, led by six from Evan Flaks, to build a 16-4 advantage with 4:15 expired.
• The sides jockeyed for position over the ensuing five minutes, but Middlebury maintained the cushion with a 29-18 edge at the 11:09 mark. Irwayne Connell Jr. tallied seven in the span for the hosts, while Dominick Ducree logged four points.
• Elijah Morris netted five points in the next 2:20 of action, helping the Cardinals score 10 of the next 15 points to cut the margin to four (32-28). The Panthers countered with an 8-4 surge to lead 40-32 with 5:23 left in the session. Kuba Cwalina capped the run with a three-pointer.
• Four Plattsburgh players scored in a 7-0 flurry, bringing the squad within one (40-39) at the 17:19 mark. Cwalina nailed a pair from beyond the arc in the final minutes to ignite a 10-0 run and establish a 50-39 advantage at the break.
• The foes traded buckets in the first six minutes of the second frame. Jaiden Gladney chipped in seven for the Cardinals, while Edward Witherington added four for Middlebury, making the score 60-50 with 14:23 to play.
• Plattsburgh sank its next four attempts from the floor, including three consecutive from distance by Morris, to slice the deficit to 65-61 with 7:28 expired in the half.
• After a 12-6 span with six different scorers that favored the navy and white, Khalil Screen and Morris logged consecutive finishes to trim the margin to five (77-72) at the 6:21 mark.
• Over the final five and a half minutes, the Panthers narrowly outpaced their opposition 15-12 to possess an eight-point lead with 40 ticks left. Ian Murray and Justin Fuerbacher buoyed the offense with nine points combined in the stretch.
• Connell Jr. and Reem Welch attempted to spark the comeback late, but time ran out on the hosts' hopes, as Middlebury secured the 92-89 triumph.

NOTES

• Four Panthers tallied double-digit points. Murray led the charge with team-highs in points (19) and assists (five).
• Four of Cwalina's five field goals came from three-point range.
• Fuerbacher hauled in seven rebounds, the highest single-game total of his debut season. He also chipped in a career-high eight points.
• Middlebury now holds a 24-14 advantage in the all-time series, winning the last six meetings and 10 of the last 11 dating back to the 2014-15 season.

The Panthers return home on Sunday to compete in the back half of a doubleheader, hosting Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) at 5:00 p.m.