Waterville, MAINE-  The Colby Men's Basketball team hosted the 11-2 Middlebury College Panthers last night, January 14th, at 7:00 PM. The Mules dropped their last two in Connecticut and were looking to turn things around in this game. Middlebury's Alex Sobel, last week's NESCAC Player of the Week, scored 28 points and added 16 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season.  The Panthers topped the Mules 81-66.

The game started close, and looked to be a battle. At half, Colby trailed by six points, 38-32. Like many of their previous games, the team relied heavily on the success of their three point shooting. The Mules took nine first half threes and cashed in on three of them, two of which came from starting center Jack Lawson, providing the rest of the lineup with good floor spacing and opportunities to drive to the hoop. The first half deficit came strictly from knocking down shots, as Colby only converted on 37.5% of their field goals and Middlebury knocked down 56.3% of theirs. The first half ended with Middlebury's Sam Stevens knocking down a contested three pointer at the buzzer. 

In the second half, things only got worse for the Mules. What was a close game quickly became a blow out, as Colby found themselves down 23 with 8:27 left. Despite shooting 8/16 from three in the second half, the team simply got outscored in the second. Middlebury connected on 53.1% of their shots, meaning half of their possessions ended in a bucket. Colby was also out rebounded 18-12 in the second. 

In the end, the Panthers collected 48 points in the paint and 21 after an offensive rebound. The Mules were only able to score 24 points in the paint and 9 off of second chances. A clear failure in controlling the interior made the game very difficult for Colby, and ultimately led to the loss.

Despite the blowout loss, there were still some bright spots. Jack Lawson provided great floor spacing, shooting 2-5 from three and scoring 15 points while adding a steal and a block. The only other player with over ten points was Alec McGovern with an incredibly efficient 15 points on 4/8 from the field, 3/4 from three, and 4/4 from the line in 27 minutes of playing time. 

The Mules will look to end their mid season skid with a win today, January 15th, when they host the Williams College Ephs at 3:00 PM.