The Middlebury men's basketball team used a stellar shooting effort on Sunday in an 81-75 victory against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The triumph pushes the program's winning streak to four.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Leading 7-6 through just over three minutes of action, the Panthers pieced together an 8-3 spurt to lead 15-9 at the 15:19 mark. Justin Fuerbacher and Ian Murray each connected from three-point range in the rally.
• The Engineers methodically cut into the margin over the ensuing three minutes to move within four (21-17) with 7:49 elapsed.
• The sides alternated six-point runs over 2:21 of action, with Dominick Ducree and Murray dialling up shots from beyond the arc in the stint. The swings set the score at 27-23 with 9:43 remaining in the frame.
• Evan Flaks followed with six-consecutive points to ignite a 10-3 run, extending the lead to 11 (37-26) with 13 minutes expired.
• RPI netted the next five points before a back-and-forth build-up to the break, with Middlebury outscoring the visitors 11-10 to go ahead 48-41.
• Andrew Deppe sparked an 8-3 opening for RPI with five points early in the second stanza, helping his side slice the margin to a pair (51-49) with 17:49 to go.
• Ducree and Kuba Cwalina helped the Panthers parry the momentum with 12 of the next 15 tallies. All 12 points came from three-point range on 4-of-4 shooting for the duo to help push the lead back to 11 (63-52) with 7:50 gone.
• The Engineers tallied seven-straight points to bring the deficit down to four, 63-59, with four of the seven cashed in from the free-throw line.
• Jackson McKersie capped a 7-2 response with a layup to set a 70-61 score with 6:22 to play.
• The teams jockeyed for position over the next three minutes, setting up a 77-69 score with  3:21 left. The hosts were never challenged over the final stretch, sinking late free throws to secure an 81-75 triumph.

NOTES

• Ducree scored a team-high 20 points, marking his second game with 20 or more points in a Middlebury uniform.
• Flaks tallied a season-best 15 points with all 15 coming prior to intermission.
• The Panthers finished with a season-high 13 made three-pointers, connecting from beyond the arc at a .542 clip. It also marked the third occasion in the last three seasons where Middlebury made more than half of its attempts from beyond the arc.
• Every Panther that appeared in the contest logged at least one point.
• The programs met for the 72nd time and the first since the 2016-17 campaign. Middlebury holds a 42-30 advantage in the all-time series that began back in 1918.

The Panthers travel to Bowdoin for the UAA Challenge. Middlebury begins action on Saturday, December 6 at 2:30 p.m. against the University of Rochester.