LEWISTON, Maine -- The Middlebury Panthers used a 12-0 run midway through the second half to pull away from the Bates men's basketball team Saturday afternoon, defeating the Bobcats 69-52 in NESCAC action at Alumni Gym. 

Bates (9-10, 2-7 NESCAC) fell behind early by 11 points but rallied to cut the deficit to one at halftime. Then the Bobcats took multiple two-points leads in the second half, the latest on a three-pointer from junior captain Stephon Baxter (Worcester, Mass.) with 10:47 left in regulation, putting Bates up 45-43.

That's when the Panthers (17-4, 7-2 NESCAC) made their move, starting with an Alex Sobel old fashioned three-point play. Sobel finished the contest with a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds. Sam Stevens split a pair of free throws with 7:04 on the clock to cap off the run and give Middlebury a 55-45 lead.

The Bobcats got to within eight a couple times down the stretch, including on a three-point play from first-year Jahmir Primer (Hempstead, N.Y.) with 5:04 remaining. Primer's free throw made the score 60-52 in favor of Middlebury. Then the Panthers held the Bobcats scoreless for the final five minutes, going on a 9-0 run for the final margin of victory for the visitors. 

Baxter led the Bobcats with 19 points on 5-18 shooting, knocking down three of nine from three. Primer had a well-rounded game, with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three steals. Bates struggled from the floor, shooting just 28.8 percent from the field. The Panthers finished the game shooting 40.7% while out-rebounding the Bobcats 49-35.

Stevens finished with 14 points and David Brennan (11 points, game-high 12 rebounds) recorded a double-double for the Panthers. Noah Osher chipped in 10 points.

The Bobcats found themselves down 22-11 with 6:43 left in the first half. But Bates went on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to five on a Primer layup with 5:03 to go. Sophomore Simon McCormick (Whitefield, Maine) and senior Raheem Spence (Nantucket, Mass.) both drilled threes to get Bates within one at 28-27 with 1:48 remaining in the first. The Bobcats briefly took a one-point lead on a pair of Baxter free throws before a Thomas Zodda layup with 21 seconds left gave Middlebury the halftime edge.

The second half was a back-and-forth affair until the Panthers took over with the 12-0 run and the visitors never looked back. 

Bates returns to action Sunday when the Bobcats host Williams at 2pm in the regular season finale.