Panthers cross 20-win mark on season for second straight year

Seventh-ranked Middlebury men’s basketball continued its NESCAC rampage this past weekend at Trinity and Amherst with two double-digit victories to finish off regular season play against league rivals.

The Panthers, 21-2 on the season, knocked off Trinity, at 10-12, on the road 71-57 last Friday night. The win clinched the #2 seed in the upcoming NESCAC tournament.

The game was a close one for much of the contest, with Trinity trailing by just two, 28-26, at the end of the first half. Trinity took a 36-32 lead after consecutive threes by the Bantams. But Head Coach Jeff Brown’s Panthers then enjoyed a relentless 20-3 run and a terrific shooting performance in the second half.

They connected on 60.7 percent, or 17-for-28, of their field goals and went 8-for-12 from beyond the arc en route to a 43-point second-half offensive barrage. By the three-quarter mark, Middlebury had posted an 11-point lead and never looked back.

Ryan Wholey ’11 and Ryan Sharry ’12 scored 15 points apiece and Jake Wolfin ’13 scored 13 to lead the Panthers. Sharry added six boards in just 17 minutes, and Wolfin also contributed five assists. Captain Tim Edwards ’10 rounded out a solid game with eight points and a game-high eight assists.

“It was a great team victory with three people in double figures scoring,” said Edwards.

As in many of Middlebury’s previous victories, strong team play on both ends of the floor and dominance in the paint proved significant factors. The Panthers outrebounded the Bantams 32-28 and dished out 22 assists to the Bantams’ 16.

“We were able to execute very well, offensively,” continued Edwards, “and we also clamped down on defense.”

The win marked Middlebury’s third consecutive victory against the Bantams after 12 straight losses and also marked the Panthers’ second straight year with 20 regular season victories.

Middlebury then visited rival Amherst on Saturday to finish off regular season NESCAC play. Again, the Lord Jeffs stuck around for the first five minutes of the game, but an electric 11-0 run by the Panthers broke a 12-12 tie. The lead eventually grew to 30-15 as Middlebury utilized a nice inside-outside balance on the offensive end.

During the run, center Andrew Locke ’11 was unstoppable down low. Amherst had no answer for the 6’10” Locke until late in the first half, when Lord Jeffs’ big man Peter Kaasila went to work and dropped 17 on the night to bring the Panther lead back down to eight.

Midway through the second half, Amherst made another run to creep up on Middlebury and cut the lead to five. But the Panthers then began to build an insurmountable advantage, helped by timely scoring from Wholey. The Panther guard made several free throws and played tough defense.

The Lord Jeffs struggled from the floor. Although the Panthers shot just 39.3 percent in the second half, Amherst did not fare better. It shot an abysmal 36.1 percent and struggled from the free-throw line, making only 10-for-17 for the game. Middlebury succeeded in crunch time and came away with an 85-72 victory.

Wholey scored a game-high 22 points for Middlebury and Locke scored 17. The Middlebury center also added five rebounds and a ridiculous eight blocked shots, dominating the paint on the defensive end along with Sharry and Jamal Davis ’11.

Sharry added 14 points and controlled the boards, grabbing a game-high 12, with fellow big man Davis contributing 10 points and five rebounds. Sharry and Davis also blocked two shots apiece.

Middlebury will enter the NESCAC tournament next weekend as the second seed, behind Williams, and will host seventh-seeded Trinity next Saturday at Pepin Gym for a quarterfinal matchup that will, with any luck, play out as a repeat of last weekend. At 21-2 overall, the Panthers anticipate an exciting final few weeks and seem poised to make a big splash in national play.

“We will look to carry the momentum of this past weekend into the NESCAC playoffs,” said Edwards, “and try to defend our NESCAC title.”

After an exciting run last year, in which the Panthers were narrowly defeated in NCAA play by Bridgewater State by  just two points, the team is hoping to advance further into national play this postseason.  With one of the most successful seasons in recent Panther basketall history, prospects for playoff success look.