LYNDON CENTER, Vt. — Lyndon cut a 20-point halftime deficit down to seven with less than five minutes remaining, but could not prevent Middlebury from walking off with a 81-69 victory Tuesday at Stannard Gymnasium.

The Panthers (8-5) led 46-26 at intermission only to see the Hornets (3-10) storm back to within 67-60 with 4:33 remaining. Five straight points by Hunter Merryman and a bucket by James Jensen quieted the uprising and sent Middlebury on to the win.

Matt St. Amour scored 16 points off the Panther bench while teammate Hunter Merryman added 15 points. Dylan Sinnickson chipped in 13 points and two blocked shots and Jane Jensen collected 10 points and four rebounds for the winners.

Jake Brown had four assists and five steals for the Panthers.

David Johnson (Washington, D.C.) and Josh Bosworth (East Longmeadow, Mass.) scored 13 points each to lead the Hornets and George Carle (Central Falls, R.I.) had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Rob Alers (Central Falls, R.I.) had a team-high three assists in the loss.