Balanced Effort Leads Men’s Basketball Past Plattsburgh St.

In their only game of the week, men’s basketball ran past Plattsburgh State 92–68 on Tuesday, Dec. 5. The Panthers, who climbed up to second in the national poll, moved to 5–0, entering their matchup with No. 16 Skidmore on Friday, Dec. 8.

Middlebury took an early 15–4 lead in the first ten minutes of the first half on Tuesday, led by stout defense and some cold shooting by Plattsburgh State. The Cardinals made only two of their first 17 shots. The Panthers extended their first half lead to as many as 14 points when they took a 37–23 lead with 1:58 left, but Plattsburgh St. ended the half on a 7–1 run to cut the deficit to eight.

The Cardinals continued to creep closer to the Panthers out of the break, scoring the first four points to make it a four-point game. Middlebury responded with a 21–3 run to put the Cardinals in a hole they could not climb out of. After a tough first half when he made only two of his eight shots from the field, Matt Folger ’20 heated up in that stretch, going on a 9–0 run of his own.

The Panthers extended their lead to as many as 27, but the game remained pretty even and ended in a 91–68 Middlebury victory.

Middlebury got going from deep and hit nine of their 18 three-point attempts in the second half, including three from Griffin Kornaker ’21. Kornaker made his first appearance in the blue and white, after suffering a preseason injury and sitting out the first four games of the season.

He was one of five Panthers in double figures on Tuesday, finishing with 11 points, while Daly and Folger both scored a game-high 14. Daly added nine assists and eight rebounds, and Folger tallied his second double-double of the season with 11 rebounds. Jack Farrell ’21 scored a career-high 12 points on five of six shooting, and Hilal Dahleh ’19 tallied 13 points on five of seven shooting.

Next up for the Panthers is the Skidmore game on Friday, Dec. 8 at Saratoga Springs, New York. The Thoroughbreds have proven to be a tough challenge in year’s past. Last year, Middlebury eked out a 72–71 victory, but the season before, Skidmore won 82–77. Three season ago, Middlebury won by one as well, 57–56.

This season, both teams enter the matchup undefeated, Middlebury at 5–0 and Skidmore at 6–0.