The Middlebury men's basketball team cut the deficit to a one-possession contest with 12:24 remaining, but a 16-3 run by Connecticut College proved costly Friday evening as the Panthers fell 78-66.
HIGHLIGHTS
- A three-pointer from the left wing by James LaFrance put Connecticut College ahead 13-5 with 4:59 expired in the opening half.
- Middlebury chipped away at the Camel lead. Three free throws from Dominick Ducree and a layup from Mark Newell trimmed it to three (13-10) less than two minutes later.
- After the hosts stretched their lead to eight (18-10) on a Quron Zene shot from beyond the arc, the Panthers embarked on a 14-4 run to grab a 24-22 edge with 5:48 remaining in the first half. Kuba Cwalina paced the push with six points.
- The sides traded baskets until Connecticut College closed the final 2:51 of the stanza with eight-straight points to rebuild a 35-27 lead heading into the locker room.
- Greg Cantwell connected on a three-pointer to open the second half before the Panther offense came alive. An Edward Witherington bucket from beyond the arc swelled into a 17-10 run spanning 6:18 to put the navy and white within three (47-44) with 12:24 remaining.
- The Camels withstood the momentum swing, jumping on a 16-3 run to stack their lead to 63-47 at the 7:23 mark. Garrett Clar and James LaFrance had five apiece in the spurt.
- Middlebury countered again, ripping off seven-consecutive points for a 63-54 ballgame with 4:41 to go.
- Connecticut College did not let the visitors get any closer down the stretch as the Camels closed out the 78-66 victory.
NOTES
- Cwalina surpassed double-figures for the 11th time this season, recording 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
- Ducree and Ian Murray each added 10 points, while Murray tallied a team-best four assists.
- Sawyer Ramey added eight points and snagged seven rebounds in the setback.
- The programs met for the 46th time in the sport of men's basketball.
Middlebury wraps up its conference road trip against #12 Tufts on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
