BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Middlebury College men’s basketball team opened its season this past weekend with a pair of losses at a tournament hosted by Medaille College in Buffalo, N.Y.
The Panthers were seeking their first win on Tuesday at SUNY-New Paltz in a game played after the early holiday deadline for this edition of the Independent. Next up is a busy stretch: Middlebury will head to a four-team tournament in Rochester, N.Y., this weekend, facing Oswego State on Saturday and a foe to be determined on Sunday, and then visit RPI, Johnson State and Skidmore on Dec. 1, 3 and 5, respectively.
On this past Saturday, a late Panther rally fell short in the consolation game at Medaille in a 63-57 loss to St. Lawrence (1-3). 
The Saints closed out the first half on a 10-0 run to lead at the break, by 11, 33-22. St. Lawrence stretched the lead to 14, but a 9-0 Panther run sparked by five points from Matt St. Amour brought Middlebury within five at 38-33 with 14:15 remaining.
The lead remained in single digits, and the Panthers made it a one-point game when St. Amour hit a three with 34 seconds left to play. But St. Lawrence’s Willie Zachery went four for four down the stretch from the line and the Saints held on for the 63-57 win.
St. Amour finished with a team-high 15 points and was selected to the all-tournament team, while Jake Brown scored a dozen with five assists. Matt Daley netted 11 points with six rebounds, while Connor Huff finished with a game-high 12 boards. The Panthers connected on just five of 26 three-point attempts, while the Saints knocked down 18 of 22 free throws.
On Saturday, Baldwin-Wallace defeated the Panthers, 97-87, in their opener. The Panthers took an early 18-12 lead, but Baldwin-Wallace recovered to lead at the half, 43-36, and used a 17-1 second-half run to take an 80-56 lead with 5:39 remaining.
Baldwin Wallace shot .519 from the floor and hit on 15 of 26 attempts from behind the arc. Cameron Kohn scored 19 points to lead the Yellow Jackets in double figures.
Matt St. Amour poured in a career-high 33 points, going 16 of 20 from the free throw line. Brown scored 14 points and added five assists, while Daley netted 13 with six boards. Jack Daly finished with seven points, seven rebounds and four assists.