Men's Hoops Rejected in 3-Loss Week

Author: Matt Ross

The Panthers had an up-and-down February break, going 2-3 and 2-2 in New England Small Colleges Athletic Association (NESCAC) play. With two games left before the NESCAC tournament, the team is 13-9 overall and 2-5 in the league.
The Panthers started the week hot, burying Colby 86-67. Middlebury let an early 8-0 lead slip away before establishing a 14 point halftime lead. The team never looked back. Captain Eric Bundonis '03 led the team with a career-high 29 points. The win marked Middlebury's 12th of the season, the most wins in a season since '92-'93.
The momentum helped carry the Panthers to a close 82-80 victory over Bowdoin. Middlebury trailed by two at the half despite allowing the Polar Bears to shoot 50 percent from the field. The lead ballooned to 20 with 10:36 left in the game before Nate Anderson '04 sparked a stunning comeback that was sealed by his own lay-up that put the team ahead by two with four seconds remaining. When Bowdoin's Mark Yakovonis missed a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer Middlebury had all but secured themself a berth in the NESCAC tournament. With 34 and 21 points respectively and 10 rebounds apiece, Anderson and Bundonis carried the Panthers in a game where the team shot only 39 percent from the field and was out-rebounded 41-33. Anderson's performance earned him NESCAC Player of the Week honors.
Despite losing 111-75 to the University of Vermont, the game gave the Panthers a chance to test themselves against the best competition the state has to offer and to spread the ball around. Each player saw some action and all but three made their way onto the scoreboard.
After the breather from NESCAC play Middlebury returned to the league against a very evenly-matched Wesleyan squad. Wesleyan controlled the tempo in the first half, holding the Panthers to only 36 points and establishing a 10-point lead. Middlebury turned up the heat in the second half, taking 78 shots and scoring 62 points, but the Cardinals held off the charge by shooting 58 percent from the field on their way to a 106-98 victory. The game was a huge blow to Middlebury as it denied them a chance to pull even with Wesleyan in the NESCAC standings, and give them the tiebreaker needed to vault Middlebury into the top half of the league. It would have also given it a shot at pulling ahead of Bates and Tufts in the league. Such a streak would have garnered Middlebury a home game in the tournament.
The let down against Wesleyan seemed to follow the team into the game against bottom-dwelling Connecticut College. By the end of the first half Connecticut College (previously 0-6 in the NESCAC) had established a 4-point lead, holding the Panthers to just 27 points. Middlebury managed to hang in the game and hoped to shake off the Wesleyan defeat in the second half, but the poor play only got worse as Connecticut added 53 points to its total and 16 to its lead to win 84-64.
While the Panthers viewed both of the last two games as must-win, they are still in a position to make some noise in the NESCAC tournament. Even without winning either of its last two games, Middlebury would likely make the league tournament as Connecticut College would have to beat either Amherst or Trinity just to match Middlebury's league win total. Colby and Bowdoin play in what amounts to an elimination game on Saturday as Middlebury would hold the tiebreaker against the loser of the match-up. However, entering the tournament on a four-game losing streak to play one of the league's top two teams on the road is not a desirable outcome.
Another win assures Middlebury a place in the tournament, but would not improve its seed beyond seven. The best outcome for Middlebury includes wins against both Bates and Tufts, which would give the team a 4-5 record in the league. These wins would vault Middlebury ahead of Bates should the Bobcats lose to Williams on Friday. There is also a chance that, with the correct tiebreakers, these wins coupled with losses by Wesleyan to Trinity and Amherst could lift Middlebury as high as fifth in the league. Anything less than winning would leave Middlebury with a game at Williams, Amherst or Trinity. With two wins Middlebury can avoid playing the top two seeds in the NESCAC in the first round, and enter the tournament with momentum and confidence. The games against Tufts and Bates will be held on Friday and Saturday afternoon.