The Middlebury men’s basketball team (4-2) topped Endicott 86-81 at home on Sunday afternoon. With the victory, head coach Jeff Brown tallied his 400th win at Middlebury, and 430th overall. The Panthers return to action on Tuesday when they host SUNY Canton at 5:00 p.m., while the Gulls (3-2) travel to Gordon on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
Endicott jumped out to an 11-6 lead on a jumper from Dillon Grant at the 16:19 mark. Middlebury responded with a 9-2 run over the ensuing 2:13 to take a 15-13 edge. Noah Osher tallied five points over the span. Knotted at 22 points apiece, the Panthers rattled off eight of the next 10 points, capped on a layup from Lamine Cisse to make it 30-24 with 7:37 remaining in the half. Middlebury increased its lead to 10 (37-27) on a shot from beyond the arc by Sam Stevens with 6:03 showing on the clock. The Panthers maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the stanza, heading into the break with a 43-35 advantage.
Out of the intermission, the Gulls chipped away at the deficit, knotting the contest at 56-56 with 12:40 remaining. The teams traded the next few points, before a trey from Billy Arseneault gave Endicott a 63-61 edge with 10:58 showing on the clock. Middlebury answered, scoring nine unanswered points over the ensuing 2:01, taking a 70-63 lead on a layup from Alex Sobel. The Gulls responded with a 10-3 run, tying the game at 73 points apiece on a layup from Jalen Echevarria with 5:12 left. A layup from Sobel and a pair of charity tosses by Stevens put the hosts back in front, but the Gulls responded with a three from Echevarria and a layup from Grant to take a 78-77 edge with 1:02 remaining. A shot from Osher gave the Panthers a one-point lead, before Middlebury converted 5-6 free throws to make it 84-78 with just 12 ticks left on the clock. With eight seconds remaining, a trey from Echevarria gave the Gulls a chance, bringing them within three (84-81), but Osher went 2-2 at the free throw line for the 86-81 final.
Osher and Stevens led all players with 22 points apiece and went 4-4 and 6-6 from the free throw line, respectively. David Brennan tallied a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while shooting 5-5 from the floor. Sobel chipped in with 12 points and pulled down seven boards for Middlebury.
Arseneault paced Endicott with 21 points, while grabbing six rebounds and recording a game-high three steals. Grant tallied 18 points and pulled down seven boards, while Echevarria led all players with five blocks.
Brown Tallies 400th Win At Middlebury
