The #18-ranked Panthers of Middlebury College defeated the Bearcats, 96-89, in an exciting high-scoring championship contest of the Rotary Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Franklin & Marshall College on Saturday afternoon in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The Bearcats dug themselves into a hole early by falling behind, 25-10, during the opening 10 minutes. From there, they slowly chipped away at the deficit behind the first half scoring of Granville Gittens (15pts, 5 rbs).

They did get as close as five points (46-41) on a 3-pointer by Edward Roscigno, but Middlebury finished with a strong run to lead 53-45 at halftime.

During the second half, Gittens exploded again on both ends of the court with 19 points and nine rebounds to keep the team within distance of the Panthers, who managed to consistently lead by as much as 8-9 points by shooting 50 percent.

Despite the strong shooting, the Bearcats went on a late run to get close as two points (83-81) on a 3-pointer by Matt Feldman with 3:57 left.

The Panthers closed out the game with 13-8 run over the final 3:50 to earn the victory.

Gittens, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, finished a brilliant afternoon with a career-high 34 points (13-22 fg), 15 rebounds, two steals and one block in 28 minutes of action.

The Panthers from Vermont shot 10-of-23 from 3-point range, including 8-of-14 in the first half, to win the trophy.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Matt Porter-Franklin & Marshall
Kahlil Bennett-Alvernia
Granville Gittens - Baruch
Matt Dailey - Middlebury
MVP - Joey Kizel – Middlebury

RESULTS
Friday, November 15
#18 Middlebury 81, #21 Alvernia 71
Baruch 61, Franklin & Marshall 56

Saturday, November 16
#18 Middlebury 96, Baruch 89
#21 Alvernia 70, Franklin & Marshall 69 (OT)