MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College men’s basketball team split two NESCAC home games this past weekend before picking up a non-league road win on Tuesday. The Panthers will carry an 11-4 record, 1-1 NESCAC, into league games at Bates and Tufts this weekend.
On the past Friday the Panthers closed a 92-80 victory over visiting Connecticut with a 12-2 run. The Camels are 0-2 in the league, 4-8 overall.
The Camels took a 72-71 lead with 6:10 remaining, but the Panthers responded to go ahead, 80-76. After a Camel hoop, the Panthers surged to the finish line with seven points from Max Bosco and five from Eric McCord.
Bosco led four Panthers in double figures with 24 points, including four threes, while McCord added 21 points to go along with eight rebounds. Matt Folger added 17 points and three steals, while Griffin Kornaker had 10 points and six assists. Jack Farrell contributed nine points, seven rebounds and a career-best seven assists. David Labossiere paced the visitors with 36 points.
On Saturday visiting Wesleyan (9-4, 1-1 NESCAC) hung on for an 80-77 win over Middlebury. The Panthers took a 12-2 lead, but the Cardinals bounced back to lead at halftime, 37-34.
The Panthers took their largest lead of the second half, 60-55, with 7:44 remaining when McCord converted after a steal by Hilal Dahleh. Middlebury still led by one (69-68) on layup from Farrell at 3:27.
Wesleyan answered with a 9-0 run to lead by 77-69 before a three by Farrell made it 77-72 at 1:22. Middlebury cut the lead to 80-77 on a three from Kornaker with 0:50 seconds remaining. But Bosco couldn’t get a game-tying three-point attempt to drop at 0:09.
Farrell led Middlebury with 23 points to go along with six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Kornaker finished with 14 points, while Bosco added 11. Dahleh netted nine, while McCord recorded eight points and eight rebounds.
Wesleyan guard Austin Hutcherson led all scorers with 36 points. The Cardinals went 17 for 20 from the free-throw line, and the Panthers were two for four.
On Tuesday the Panthers pulled away in the second half for a 95-75 victory over host Widener (7-7) in the first meeting between the programs. Middlebury closed the first half on an 11-0 run, with five points from Bosco, to lead by 36-30 at the break, and then had runs of 12-2 and 14-2 in the second half to take charge.
Bosco led the Panthers with a career-high 27 points, while Folger scored 20 points to go along with eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Joey Leighton added 12 points; McCord pulled down 15 rebounds, scored seven points and blocked two shots, and Kornaker handed out six assists. Connor Laverty scored 21 for Widener. Middlebury held advantages of 54-32 on the boards and 52-38 points in the paint.