MIDDLEBURY, Vt. -- In the second of back-to-back road games, the Bates men's basketball team fell to the Middlebury Panthers by a final score of 73-61 Saturday afternoon.

Marcus Delpeche '17 (Wilmington, Del.) led the way for the Bobcats (9-7, 2-2, NESCAC) with 13 points on 6-8 shooting from the floor. He tallied a double-double with 12 rebounds on the afternoon. 

Turnovers were an issue all game for the Bobcats. They turned the ball over 16 times while recording only 12 assists. Meanwhile the Panthers (9-7, 3-1, NESCAC) recorded 15 assists and only turned the ball over eight times. 

Bates struggled from the floor in the first half, shooting only 30%. Jerome Darling '17 (Hartford, Conn.) paced the Bobcats in the half with eight points on a pair of threes and a pair of free throws. He finished the game with 11 points on 3-7 shooting.

Bates trailed by seven at the break.

The Panthers shot 44.6% from the floor in the game and they got to the line twice as much as the Bobcats, making nine more free throws along the way. Matt St. Amour led the way for Middlebury with a game-high 17 points while Jake Brown added 13 points on 4-8 shooting. Five Middlebury players scored in double figures compared to three for the Bobcats.

Senior co-captain Josh Britten (Yarmouth, Maine) had a nice game for Bates, finishing with 10 points on 4-8 shooting. Co-captain Mike Newton '16 (Chapel Hill, N.C.) contributed six points, seven rebounds and three assists. 

Bates is back in action Friday at Connecticut College. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m.