The Middlebury men’s basketball team hoped to have plenty to be thankful for over the break with two games in the Hoopsville National Invitational Classic on Friday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Nov. 24. Unfortunately the Panthers fell short in both contests, first by being upset by the host Stevenson Mustangs on Friday, and then by dropping an overtime thriller against 10th-ranked St. Mary’s (Md.). The Stevenson loss was the program’s first pre-New Year’s defeat since 2008.
The Panthers rebounded on Sunday, Dec. 1, with a victory on the road against Rensselaer, 92-79, and added to their win total with a 90-80 defeat of Castleton St. at home on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
Stevenson, who entered the game 1-0, disrupted the Panthers previously fluid offense and won the battle on the boards despite a disadvantage in height — grabbing 47 rebounds to Middlebury’s 42 and pulling down 19 on the offensive end. The Mustangs led 10-5 at the first stoppage in play and never looked back, dropping Middlebury to 2-1 with a 80-69 final score.
Captain Joey Kizel ’14 continued his slow start to the season. On the positive end, Kizel shot well from the line (7-8), a department in which the Panthers as a whole struggled (59.1 percent), and picked the Mustangs for six steals. Yet all that was not enough to make up for his 2-10 shooting from the floor and six turnovers.
The struggles continued for Vermont-native Matt St. Amour ’17 as well. In the starting lineup for the third consecutive game, St. Amour managed just two points on 0-6 shooting from the field.
Jake Brown ’17, in just his second game after missing the season’s first two contests due to injury, played a solid 25 minutes off the bench and handled the ball with poise. The newcomer gathered 14 points on 6-9 shooting to go along with five assists.
“I have a lot of confidence in Jake’s ability to lead our offense,” head coach Jeff Brown said. “[He] has made a quick adjustment to the college game.”
Hunter Merryman ’15 provided the team with an offensive spark. Since coming off the bench in the season opener, Merryman has started every game and has been a consistent scorer. On Friday, Merryman filled it up for 21 points on 8-17 shooting and 5-11 beyond the arc.
The Mustangs outplayed Middlebury physically and attacked the Panthers’ interior, forcing Kizel and others into foul trouble. Kizel fouled out late in the game, while some early whistles relegated Matt Daley ’16 to just 18 minutes in the contest.
Middlebury had a day to recover before squaring off with number 10 St. Mary’s.
Stepping into the starting lineup for St. Amour, Nate Bulluck ’14 had a great start to the game, scoring the Panthers first nine points and giving Middlebury a 9-4 lead. The Panthers led 34-31 at halftime, but with 10 minutes remaining St. Mary’s knotted the score at 52 all.
Kizel found his form in the game’s second half, particularly down the stretch, scoring 20 second half points on 6-10 shooting. With 1:30 left in the second, Kizel completed a three-point play to bring Middlebury within two. A minute later, Kizel went to the line down three and hit both free throws under pressure to make it a one-point game. After the subsequent foul, St. Mary’s hit both of its free throws, leaving the Panthers with 12.9 seconds to make up a three-point deficit. In classic fashion, Kizel knocked down a buzzer beater to send the game into overtime.
Responding well to his change of role, St. Amour played 29 strong minutes, tallying eight points, including a critical three points in overtime to give the Panthers a one point lead, followed on the next possession by two successful free throws.
Merryman played 39 minutes on the night, but did not have his typical solid shooting game. As the clock ticked down in the final second, Merryman got two looks from beyond the arc with a chance to tie the game once again and go to a second overtime period, but failed to tickle the twine, with the buzzer giving Middlebury the 81-78 loss.
For the second game in a row, Jake Nidenberg ’16 contributed significant minutes off the bench, scoring 12 points on 6-7 shooting in 23 minutes. Nidenberg seemed to be taking advantage of the void left by Dylan Sinnickson’s ’15 voluntary leave of absence and the injury of James Jensen ’14, who dressed for the first time on Sunday, but did not play.
“Jake has developed into a strong offensive post player,” the elder Brown said. “His ability to get us high percentage shots inside is his greatest asset.”
From the sideline, Brown looked for more positives despite the disappointing outcomes.
“I don’t view the two losses in Baltimore as a negative,” he said. “We had some bright spots in both games. Playing a strong non-league schedule on the road can be helpful going into the NESCAC schedule in January.”
The Panthers finally got back to their winning ways against the less-heralded RPI Engineers (0-4) on Sunday, Dec. 1, with a 92-79 win — improving to 3-2 on the year.
The Panthers led throughout most of the affair, though the outcome was in doubt until late in the second frame. With 4:28 left in the game, Middlebury led by just six, but their good day from the charity stripe (20-23) allowed them to seal the deal.
Brown, a promising first-year point guard, earned his first start of the season and distributed all game long, attempting just one shot but racking up six assists in 25 minutes. The first-year point guard did not know he would be counted on so heavily early on.
“Honestly, coming in I had no idea what to expect,” he said. “I think I can alleviate some of the pressure [Joey] faces every night. I knew I had an amazing opportunity playing with Joey so every chance I get I try and learn from his play.”
Brown believes he can be successful without scoring, as he was against RPI.
“I see myself as a pass first point guard that can score,” Brown said. “Setting up shots for Joey is a big part of our offense, so any time I can get him the ball I think it makes his job easier.”
Merryman returned to his scoring ways, hitting three shots from deep en route to a 23-point performance. Jensen saw his first action of the year, providing 17 high-energy minutes, 10 points, and three boards while also drawing a charge, earning the praise of coach Brown.
“Jensen adds a lot to our playing group,” coach Brown said. “After Joey he is our most experienced player. He is a tough matchup because of his mid-range game and his ability to drive to the basket.”
Nidenberg, again, shot well (6-12) in 16 minutes off the bench. Kizel, too, put together a strong stat line, with 14 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
On Tuesday, Dec. 3 the Panthers defeated in-state opponent Castleton St. (1-3). The Spartans one victory on the season was impressive, coming over WPI who was ranked ninth at the time.
Castleton came into the game shooting 34 percent from behind the arc, but rode strong three-point shooting in this match-up to an early lead, and finished shooting 50 percent from deep.
Castleton St. took a one point lead into halftime, shooting 57.1 percent from the field in the first period and knocking down seven threes, but the Panthers’ significant rebounding advantage (22-12 in the first half) and the performance of Jensen kept it close. Jensen finished the game with a career-best 22 points, shooting 12-15 from the line, and locked down Castleton’s top offensive threat, forward Cornelius Green, who fouled out with zero points.
Jensen's head coach was happy to have Jensen back.
“On offense, he is a tough matchup because of his mid range game and his ability to drive to the basket,” Brown said.
In the game’s final three minutes Castleton could only muster two free throws, allowing Middlebury to pull away with the 90-80 victory.
Kizel had a typical game, scoring 19. Jack Roberts ‘14 tossed away an astonishing nine shots to go with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Despite the team’s losses in Maryland, there is optimism amongst the team and coaching staff.
“For a lot of guys on this year’s team,” Jensen said, “not only were out two weekend tournament games their first big games, but it was also the first time they saw significant minutes. Obviously I wanted to win the Invitational, but I was happy with how some of our younger players stepped up against good competition.”
The Panthers will be 5-2 when they travel to Skidmore on Saturday, Dec. 7 for their final game of 2013.
Men’s Hoops Falls Twice at Hoopsville Classic
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