HARTFORD, Conn. - The visiting Trinity College Bantams and the Middlebury College Panthers went toe-to-toe for 50 minutes, but the Bantams ran out of gas in the third overtime, losing, 82-77 in three overtimes in men's basketball action this evening at Pepin Gymnasium.  Trinity falls to 10-6 overall and 1-3 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), while the Panther improve to 15-3 overall and 5-1 in the conference.  Trinity returns to action on Tuesday against NESCAC rival Colby at 4:30 p.m.  First-year guard Will Dorion (Needham, Mass.) paced Trinity with 20 points and eight rebounds.  

The teams traded leads back and forth early in a low-scoring first half.  The Panthers rattled off six unanswered points to take a 24-18 advantage with 1:01 showing on the clock. Trinity junior guard C.J. Redd (Peekskill, N.Y.) scored inside and sophomore forward Ben Callahan-Gold (New York, N.Y.) drilled a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one at the half at 24-23. Trinity built a 34-31 lead with 13:57 showing on the clock in the second stanza thanks to back-to-back buckets by senior Donald Jorden Jr. (Tampa, Fla.).  Middlebury went on a 7-0 run to take a 38-34 lead. Trinity responded by scoring 13 of the next 15 points, taking a 47-40 advantage with 6:09 to go in the frame. Dorion and Jorden combined for nine of the 13 points during the run.  The Panthers battled back, pulling even at 49-49 with a dunk from Alex Sobel with 4:15 left. Tied at 53-all, Stevens converted a pair of free throws and a layup to give Middlebury a 57-53 edge with 20 seconds left in regulation. Dorion made a layup for Trinity five seconds later, and junior forward D.J. Smith (Providence, R.I.) hit two clutch charity tosses in the final seconds to send the contest into overtime.
 
The first extra session was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team able to take a sizeable lead. Smith made a free throw to tie the game with 14 seconds left at 66-66, but the second fell off the front of the rim.  The Trinity defense held strong and forced Middlebury into a long 3-pointer at the end that was well off the mark.  During the second overtime, a pair of charity tosses from Dorion gave Trinity a 73-70 edge with 1:37 left on the clock. Middlebury made three of four three throws late to tie it again.  The Panthers opened the final frame with four-straight points, taking a 77-73 lead with 3:57 to go. Trailing, 81-77, with 24 seconds left, Trinity had a chance to cut the deficit to one on a 3-point try by Callahan-Gold but the shot did not fall. Middlebury made another free throw late to put it away. 

Jorden joined Dorion in double figures in scoring with 19 points and added 11 rebounds. Smith finished with nine points and nine boards, while rookie Ethan McEachern (Portland, Oregon) dished five assists. Noah Osher led all players with 26 points, while Sam Stevens recorded a double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds.  Trinity forced 21 Middlebury turnovers but committed 19 of their own.  Four Bantams fouled out and Middlebury shot 47 free throws, missing 17 of them.  The Panthers outrebounded the Bantams, 61-44.