HOBOKEN, N.J. – The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team suffered its first defeat of the 2025-26 season at the hands of Middlebury College Saturday afternoon from Canavan Arena by a score of 87-74.
 
Stevens (3-1) finished with a near 3-to-2 advantage in free throws (29-for-39 to 19-for-29 for Middlebury), but the Panthers shot over 44 percent in each half and finished the game at a 41.4 percent clip from three-point territory.
 
Tommy Scholl tied his scoring and rebounding career-highs, dropping 27 while pulling down 10 boards. Evan Gutowski posted a third straight double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds, Harmehar Chhabra had 15 points, and Kyle Maddison had 12.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Middlebury (2-1) went up 11 in just over five minutes and held a double-digit lead for the majority of the final 12 minutes of the half.
 
Scholl had five of the Ducks' first eight and nine of their first 15, but Middlebury (2-1) started 12-for-21 from the floor, opening a 32-17 lead at the 8:06 mark.  Free throws from Gutowski and Brendan Coughlan, plus a Gutowski hook shoot trimmed the margin to 10, 32-22, as the Ducks held Middlebury without a basket for nearly six minutes, but the Panthers still held a 40-26 lead in the final 90 seconds of the half.
 
Two Maddison free throws plus a Matt Leming three pulled the Ducks under nine, 40-31, for the first time since the 11:24 mark, with the Panthers adding a late layup for a 42-31 lead at the break.
 
Scholl, Chhabra, and Gutowski all helped Stevens chip away at the deficit early in the second half. Scholl added the first points of the half on a layup, Chhabra added a free throw + a pair of layups, Gutowski knocked down a jumper, and a Scholl layup suddenly had the Ducks within six, 48-42 with 14:22 left. Middlebury withstood the rush, knocking down three-pointers on their next three possessions, eventually opening a 60-44 cushion at the 12:35 mark.
 
Eight combined free throws from Gutowski/Chhabra/Scholl, plus two Scholl layups, two Maddison jumpers, and a Gutowski three-point play helped Stevens halve the deficit and then some, closing to within seven, 70-63, with 3:50 left.
 
Middlebury again withstood the rush, closing out the win thanks in part to converting 11 of its final 14 from the foul line.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Scholl has scored at least 16 points and grabbed at least seven rebounds in all four games this season for the Ducks
• Since an eight-point, five-rebound Ducks debut, Gutowski has averaged 11.7 points and 13 rebounds over his last three games
• Chhabra has scored at least 15 points in all four games this season and Maddison has scored at least 13

UP NEXT
The team's season-opening homestand now complete, the Ducks hit the road for the first time this year on Tuesday night for a 6:00 PM tip at Baruch.

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