Men's Basketball Drops Heartbreaker at Home to Middlebury Saturday, 64-63

WEST HARTFORD, Conn.- Middlebury's Sam Stevens (Mansfield, Mass.) scored 18 of his career-high 28 points in the second half, including the game-winning layup with 33 seconds left to give the Panthers a 64-63 lead. The University of Saint Joesph Blue Jays suffered a rare home loss and dropped to 1-1 on the young season. While the Panthers won their season opener and improved to 1-0 on the year. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Stevens, who scored a career-high 28 points against the Blue Jays last season in Middlebury, Vt opened the scoring with a three pointer, one minute into the game. Nonetheless, it was the Blue Jays that took early control of this one as Keene State transfer Senior guard Tahmeen Dupree (Brooklyn, N.Y.) converted a layup to give USJ a 15-7 lead with 14:05 left in the first half. A few minutes later, Senior guard Kevin Cummings (Portsmouth, N.H.) made his own layup to keep the lead at eight, 19-11. The Panthers would battle back, narrowing the lead to just one, 23-22, after Senior forward David Brennan (Boston, Mass.) made a pair of free throws with 5:59 left in the opening half. Junior guard Malcolm Eley (Bronx, N.Y.) made a layup with 33 seconds left to give the Blue Jays a 33-28 lead. However, Sam Stevens responded on the Panthers' next possession with a layup, cutting the deficit to just three, 33-30, at halftime. 

With the Blue Jays now trailing 39-37 in the early part of the second half, Junior forward Friedrich Feldrappe (Berlin, Germany) sparked a 7-0 run over the next 64 seconds with a layup, followed by a Junior guard Lence Altentor (Everett, Mass.) three pointer and then a Cummings layup to give USJ a 44-39 lead with 13:55 left in the second half. Middlebury would respond and tie the game at 44-44 after a three pointer from Sophomore guard Kuba Cwalina (New York, N.Y.). The Blue Jays would get the lead back and expand it to six points, 58-52, after a Feldrappe layup with 5:44 remaining. Feldrappe, who scored just six points in the Blue Jays season-opening victory against Clark this past Wednesday, scored a team-high 21 points in this one. 

Still, Middlebury just kept on fighting back and went on its own 7-0 which ended with a Stevens layup to give the Panthers a 59-58 edge with 2:54 left. The final 91 seconds was an intense back and forth as Cwalina hit his second three pointer of the ball game to give his team a 62-60 lead. Cwalina scored 13 points in just 19 minutes off the bench. Freshman guard Jakari Tertulien (Bridgeport, Conn.) answered on the Blue Jays next possession converting an And-1 layup. Tertulien would make the free throw and give USJ a 63-62 lead with 1:03 left. 30 seconds later, Stevens scored the game's final basket with a layup to give the Panthers a 64-63 advantage and win.  

The Blue Jays did have multiple chances to tie or take the lead in the final nine seconds. Feldrappe missed a three pointer, but Junior guard Tyshawn Jackson (Hartford, Conn.) grabbed the rebound and drew a foul. Jackson missed both free throws but ran down the second miss and knocked it off a Panther to keep the possession with USJ. Following a timeout, Cummings missed a three pointer, Altenor grabbed the rebound and passed it to Jackson, who missed the layup right at the buzzer. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• The Panthers have now evened the all-time series at 1-1, with each team winning on each other's home floor. 

• Saint Joseph suffered just its first November home loss under Head Coach Glen Miller (9-1). 

• Feldrappe was the only Blue Jay to score in double-digits (21 points). 

• USJ made a season-low 3 three pointers and went just 6-10 from the free throw line. 

• The game featured 10 ties and 24 lead changes. 

UP NEXT 

The Blue Jays will look to regroup this upcoming Wednesday when they host (RV) Babson College out of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). USJ has already defeated one NEWMAC school this season, defeating Clark University this past Wednesday 67-65 in West Hartford. Tipoff between the Blue Jays and Beavers is scheduled for 6:00pm ET inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium in West Hartford, Conn. 

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