The Middlebury men's basketball team concluded its weekend NESCAC slate with a 75-62 defeat at #12 Tufts on Saturday.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Edward Witherington tallied six points on two connections from beyond the arc to spark a 7-1 opening run for the Panthers through the initial 3:35 of play.
• The Jumbos answered the early momentum with six of the next nine points, interrupted by an Evan Flaks three-pointer, trimming the lead to three (10-7) with 15 minutes left in the half.
• Justin Fuerbacher snapped a scoreless stretch of 2:47 with five unanswered as part of an 8-2 jolt that established an 18-9 Middlebury advantage.
• Scott Gyimesi logged a pair of three-pointers and two charity tosses to headline a 15-6 Tufts surge spanning the next 2:43, knotting the contest at 24-24 with 7:43 to play in the session.
• The ensuing 3:48 featured three combined points for the sides, all from the free-throw line, to push the Jumbos in front 26-25.
• Five Tufts players scored across an 11-2 stretch in the final four minutes of the stanza before Witherington connected on a jumper in the final seconds for a 36-29 contest at the half.
• Ian Murray outpaced Jon Medley 5-2 across the first 2:05 of the second half, bringing the guests within four (38-34).
• Dylan Reilly and Ricardo Nieves each converted a three-pointer to double up the Panthers 6-3 over the following three minutes and return the margin to 44-37 with 14 minutes left.
• Dominick Ducree caught fire from there, logging 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the next four minutes to help Middlebury take 12 of 14 and regain a 49-46 lead with 10:23 elapsed.
• The Jumbos took command of the final 10 minutes, outscoring the Panthers 29-13 over the final 9:14 to secure the 75-62 win.    

NOTES

• Ducree logged a game-high 20 points and delivered four makes from beyond the arc.
• The programs met for the 68th matchup of the series that dates back to 1925.

Middlebury returns to Pepin Gymnasium on Monday, January 19 to host Keene State at 7:00 p.m.