MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team fell to Middlebury in non-conference action on the road on Monday night at Pepin Gymnasium. After going into halftime down double digits, Middlebury continued to shoot well in the second half making the deficit too much for the Cardinals to erase as Plattsburgh fell 90-60.

Junior guard Kareem Welch (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) led all players in points with a game-high 21 to go with five assists, four rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Senior guard Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) also contributed to the Cardinals' effort tonight with 10 points and five rebounds while junior guard / forward Damari Johnson (Binghamton, N.Y. / Johnson City) had eight points and five rebounds. Franklin Infante (East Rockaway, N.Y. / East Rockaway) led the team in rebounds with six and also had four points, three assists, and two steals on the night.

For the Panthers, Sam Stevens led the team in points with 18 and also had five assists and four rebounds. Kuba Cwaline and Evan Flaks also reached double figures with 16 and 12 respectively while Mark Newell led all players in rebounding with 10.

The Cardinals went a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line shooting 100.0% but only shot 32.9% from the field and 31.3% from behind the arc while the Panthers shot 71.4% from the free throw line, an efficient 50.7% from the field, and 33.3% from three. Both teams turned the ball over 13 times while the Cardinals got 16 points off turnovers and the Panthers 17. The Panthers dominated the boards 50-34 and got 24 second chance points compared to the Cardinals' 11.

Plattsburgh State moves to 1-3 with the loss and next travels to Division I University of Vermont on Wednesday, Nov. 27 for an exhibition with a 7 p.m. tip-off. Middlebury moves to 4-0 with the win and next travels to Endicott on Sunday, Dec. 1 for a 2 p.m. matchup.

Middlebury got off to a hot start making 3 of 3 field goals for a quick 8-0 lead in the opening two minutes of the half. Jeremiah Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y. / East New York Family Academy) scored the Cardinals' first two points to stop the Middlebury run and made the score 8-2 Panthers. A three from Tabb and a layup from Infante made the score 10-7 Panthers, but another Middlebury run extended their lead to 22-7 with less than 12 minutes remaining in the half. Johnson made a three-pointer and ended the Middlebury run while Welch scored the Cardinals' next eight points and made the score 31-20 Panthers at the 5:50 mark. A layup plus the free throw from Tabb cut the Panthers' lead to 10 with less than five minutes to go but the Cardinals went into halftime down 41-27.

Tabb opened the scoring in the second half with two made free throws followed by two made free throws from Newell as well. After a Tabb jumper, Middlebury went on a 10-0 run and stretched their lead to 53-31 with just over 16 minutes remaining in the game. After a three from Johnson ended the Middlebury run, both teams traded baskets and made the score 55-36 Panthers at the 15:00 mark. Another run for Middlebury added to the Panthers lead but a three from Welch and then a layup as well cut the lead to 67-45 Panthers with less than 10 minutes to go. Back-to-back baskets for the Cardinals made the score 77-53 Panthers at the 5:25 mark. The Cardinals ended the game on a 7-4 run that saw Jaiden Gladney (Charleston, W. Va. / Jefferson) score his first career points on a three-pointer run but ultimately fell 90-60.