The Middlebury men's basketball team fell 85-57 to #25 Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Tuesday evening in Massachusetts. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Engineers raced out to a 13-2 lead with 14:58 left in the opening half, capped by a free throw from Jack Bleier.
• The Panthers trimmed the deficit to nine (13-4) on their next trip down the floor when Sawyer Ramey canned a pair of charity tosses.
• WPI rattled off a 20-5 run over the next 8:25 of action, grabbing a 33-9 advantage on a shot from the line by Justin Molen with 14:09 expired.
• The hosts maintained the lead over the remainder of the half, taking a 43-17 edge on a three-point make by Molen as the buzzer sounded.
• The first 4:29 of the second half featured back-and-forth basketball before Ian Murray cut the Middlebury deficit to 26 (53-27) with a free throw at the 15:31 mark.
• The Engineers answered with a 12-3 run spanning the next two minutes, highlighted by six points from Nathan Bledsoe. 
• Trailing 65-30 with 13:20 to go, the Panthers pieced together an 18-7 spurt over the ensuing 5:28, capped by a three from Devin Merker. 
• The WPI advantage was too much for Middlebury to overcome late in the contest as the Engineers secured the 85-57 triumph.

NOTES

• Mark Newell finished with 11 rebounds, giving him double-digit boards for the fourth-straight contest and the fifth time this season.
• Donovan Lee posted career-best totals with 10 points and six rebounds. 
• The programs met for the 14th time and the first since 1983-84 with the Engineers holding a 9-5 advantage.

The Panthers return to action on Friday, opening NESCAC play with a 7:00 p.m. showdown against #1 Trinity.