No. 18 Men's Basketball Falls on the Road to No. 5 Middlebury, 84-76

Photo Credit: Kayla Gosselin
Photo Credit: Kayla Gosselin

Middlebury, Vt. - The No. 18 Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team saw its 11-game win streak come to a halt Tuesday evening as the Falcons fell to No. 5 Middlebury College, 84-76, in a non-conference showdown inside Pepin Gymnasium. 

THE BASICS
FINAL: Middlebury 84 | Albertus Magnus 76
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (11-2) | Middlebury (15-1)
BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED
A slow start saw Albertus trail by three, 5-2, just two minutes in until a layup from Tyreek Perkins (New haven, Conn.) at the 18:01 mark ignited a 12-3 scoring run that put the Falcons ahead by six, 14-8. 

A short spurt by the Panthers evened the game at 14-14 before six straight points from Ryan Cahill pushed the hosts' lead to two, 20-18, with 11:09 remaining.

Trailing by one, 30-29, with 3:57 remaining, the Panthers closed out the first half with a 13-4 run to lead 42-34 at the break.

Middlebury found its groove and went on a scoring streak to start off the second half. The Panthers built up a 15-point lead, 51-36, 1:27 into the stanza following a deep three from Jack Farrell. 

Albertus continued to battle and chip away at the Panthers' lead as a layup from Jahmerikah Green-Younger (Norwalk, Conn.) brought the visitors to within 10, 60-50. However, Middlebury countered back with an 11-0 scoring run to extend its lead to 21, 71-50, with 11:23 left in regulation.

Middlebury's hot hands cooled off, which allowed Albertus to cut the Panthers' lead to seven, 75-68, at the 3:22 mark after a pair of free throws from Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn.). 

Sharp shooting from the Panthers pushed their advantage to as many as 11 before a pair of made free throws from Perkins made it a nine-point game, 83-74, with 51 seconds remaining. 

With the clock winding down, the Falcons were unable to secure the comeback and suffered their second loss of the season. 

TEAM STATS

  • Albertus Magnus - 42.3% FG | 33.3% 3PT | 63.2% FT
  • Middlebury - 44.6% FG | 40.9% 3PT | 70.8% FT
  • This game saw four ties and seven lead changes.
  • Albertus won the battle on the boards, 46-37, and held an 18-13 advantage in second chance points.
  • The Falcons scored 48 of their 76 points in the paint.

KEY PERFORMERS
Albertus:

Middlebury:

  • Max Bosco - 23 points (6-14 FG, 2-5 3PT, 9-9 FT) | 1 rebound | 3 assists
  • Tommy Eastman - 15 points (7-12 FG, 1-4 3PT, 0-1 FT) | 5 rebounds
  • Matt Folger - 12 points (5-8 FG, 2-4 3PT) | 10 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 steal | 5 blocks
  • Ryan Cahill - 12 points (3-4 FG, 1-2 3PT, 5-6 FT) | 2 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 steal | 1 block
  • Jack Farrell - 11 points (4-11 FG, 1-2 3PT, 2-6 FT) | 4 rebounds | 6 assists | 1 steal | 1 block

DOUBLE-DOUBLES

  • Albertus: None
  • Middlebury: Matt Folger (12 points, 10 rebounds)

NOTEWORTHY

  • This is the fourth meeting between the two programs.
  • Middlebury leads Albertus the all-time series, 4-0, following tonight's win.
  • Albertus tied its season-high in blocks with eight.
  • Freshman Marquan Watson (Waterbury, Conn.) led the defensive unit with a season-high four blocks.
  • Watson also finished the game with seven points and six rebounds.
  • Senior Damian Grant (Waterbury, Conn.) was one-point and three-rebounds shy from tallying a double-double (9 points, 7 rebounds).
  • Sophomore Terry Dawkins (Bronx, N.Y.) posted a team-high two assists to go along with four points, a steal and five rebounds.

UP NEXT
The men's basketball team returns home on Saturday, January 18 with a home GNAC tilt against Colby-Sawyer College. Tip-off is set for 3PM in New Haven, Conn.