MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Senior center Alex Sobel () scored the game-winning basket with 8.5 seconds left in overtime to lead the visiting Middlebury College Panthers to a 65-64 win over the Trinity College Bantams in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) men's basketball action this afternoon on Ogrodnik Court in Oosting Gymnasium.  Trinity falls to 15-7 overall and 3-5 in the NESCAC, while the No. 3-ranked Panthers improve to 19-3 overall and 7-2 in the league. Trinity first-year Henry Vetter (Kenilworth, Ill.) led all scorers with 19 points. The Bantams had the ball with a chance to win the game at the end of regulation and overtime, but the Panthers escaped with the victory.

Trinity was down 57-53 inside the three-minute mark of regulation and down 59-56 with 1:38 on the clock, but sophomore forward Sean Macarchuk (Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.) made long three-pointers to pull the Bantams even down the stretch. Sophomore guard Will Dorion (Needham, Mass.) stole the ball on a bad Sobel pass to give the Bantams possession at the end of the second half, but Vetter lost the ball on a drive and Middlebury's Noah Osher nearly won it with a desperation heave from just inside half court as time expired.

In overtime, Sobel quickly gave the Panthers a 63-59 lead with a pair of layups, but Vetter scored the game's next five points to put Trinity ahead, 64-63, with a minute left to play.  Both teams missed jumpers before Sobel lost the ball in the paint but ended up with it on the other side of the basket to put the visitors ahead by one.  Bantam junior Ben Callahan-Gold (New York, N.Y.) drove on the baseline on the final possession of the game but got a bad angle on his last-second shot that missed the mark.

The first half was close from beginning to end.  Middlebury took a 20-15 lead midway through, but the Bantams used a 10-2 run to turn the tables and lead, 25-22, just under five minutes later.  Dorion and senior captain Dana Smith (Providence, R.I.) scored four points each during the run.  Callahan-Gold and Dorion both made two free throws late to give Trinity a 33-29 lead at the break.  The Bantams continued to have the momentum in the second half and led by doiuble digits, 42-31 after a layup by rookie forward Jarrel Okorougo (Stoneham, Mass.) less than three minutes into play.  The Panthers scored nine points in a row later in the half to pull to within one at 45-44 and added a 7-0 later to lead, 57-53, before Macarchuk's long balls brought the Bantams back.

Callahan-Gold and Dorion joined Vetter in double figures in scoring for the Bantams with 13 and 12 points, respectively, while rookie forward Trevor McDonald (Natick, Mass.) paced Trinity in rebounding with six boards.  Dorion also had four steals and Smith finished with eight points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.  Sobel led all rebounders with 14 and added 10 points, three assists and two steals but had five of Middlebury's 18 turnovers.  Noah Osher paced the Panthers with 13 points and Jackson McKersie contributed 11 points and six rebounds.