Lewiston, Maine -- Bates Men's Basketball fell to Middlebury in a NESCAC affair, 61-40, Friday night at Alumni Gym. 

On an evening where consistent offense would come at a premium, the Panthers hit only 23-of-70 attempts from the floor (32.9%) while the Bobcats connected on 16-of-54 for a mark of 29.6% from the field. 

Middlebury opened an initial 6-3 lead with with all nine points coming from beyond the three-point line. With the score tied at 8-8 at the 15:47 mark of the first half, Kuba Cwalina nailed a three-pointer to put the visitors ahead, 11-8, with 13:28 to go in the stanza. The Panthers would never trail again in the contest, sprinting to a 31-18 surplus at the intermission.

Bates' struggles were exemplified with a 6:35 a scoreless drought in the middle of the opening frame, while Middlebury scored 12 unanswered points during the Bobcats' dry spell. 

The Panthers' lead would inflate to a game-high 28 points with 4:53 left in regulation as a Noah Osher jumper from the paint made the score 59-31 in favor of the road team.
 
Middlebury dominated the glass in the victory, recording 55 total rebounds (20 offensive) while the Bobcats tallied just 37 boards, six of which came on the offensive end of the floor. Three days after connecting for a program-record 21 three-pointers vs. Maine Maritime Academy, Bates was only able to hit on four of 25 attempts from deep (16.0%) on Friday night.

Peter Psyhogeos paced the Bobcats with team-highs of eight points and a new career-best 12 rebounds in 33 total minutes. Babacar Pouye followed with six points and a pair of blocks in 25 minutes of action.

Three Panthers recorded double-digit scoring performances. Evan Flaks led the way with 13 points in the win while Tristan Joseph and the aforementioned Cwalina followed with with 11 and 10 points, respectively. David Brennan secured a team-leading 10 rebounds in the effort. 

The Bobcats return to action Saturday at 3:00 p.m. with another NESCAC home contest, this time vs. Williams.