Courtesy Middlebury Sports Information
MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury men’s basketball team scored six of the final eight points in overtime, earning a 77-73 victory on Tuesday over Albertus Magnus in Pepin Gym. The 16th-ranked Panthers (12-3) wrap up their five-game homestand with a Saturday NESCAC matchup against #11 Williams at 3:00 p.m., while the Falcons (9-4) travel to Mount Ida on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
The Falcons jumped out to an 8-2 lead on a tip-in by Jahmerikah Green-Younger with 16:34 left in the opening half. The Panthers clawed their way to even at 10-10 on a layup from Jack Daly at the 13:29 mark. Trailing by two (14-12) with just over 11 minutes left, Middlebury scored seven-straight points for their largest lead of the first stanza on a layup from Eric McCord with 9:12 on the clock.
Albertus Magnus rattled off a 17-6 run spanning the next five minutes of action, grabbing their largest advantage of the half at 31-25 on a three-point field goal by A’Jen English. The hosts chipped away at the deficit, moving to within two (36-34) at the half on a layup from Adisa Majors.
Out of the break, both teams possessed small leads over the initial minutes. Ahead by one (47-46) at the 13:35 mark, the Panthers put together a 10-1 run over the next five minutes, grabbing their biggest lead of 10 (57-47) on a dunk from Nick Tarantino with 8:37 left in regulation. The Panther lead moved between three and eight points over the ensuing minutes, taking a 64-56 advantage on a layup by Tarantino with 4:56 showing on the clock.
The Falcons scored the final eight points of regulation, including a pair of free throws from Jaqhawn Walters with 20 ticks left, knotting the score at 66-66. A three-point attempt by Daly in the waning seconds was a bit strong, sending the game to overtime.
In the extra stanza tied at 71-71, the Panthers secured the lead for good on a fastbreak layup from Daly with 1:22 left. After a missed layup on the other end, a bucket from Hilal Dahleh with 26 seconds remaining and a pair of free throws by Daly sealed the win.
Daly led the Panthers with 22 points, nine assists and three steals to go along with five rebounds, whileMatt Folger, Dahleh and Joey Leighton each had nine points, respectively. McCord narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and a team-high 12 rebounds, while Tarantino finished with nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Jack Farrell handed out five assists in the win. With his nine helpers, Daly became the third Panther in the program’s history to eclipse the 500-career assist plateau with 506.
Walters paced the Falcons with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while English added 19 points including five threes, to go along with seven rebounds. Amir Maddred had nine points and 11 rebounds for Albertus Magnus, while Ryan Pittman had eight points, seven boards and a team-best five assists.