Third-Ranked Panthers Survive Scare at Johnson and Wales

The third-ranked Middlebury men’s basketball improved to 6-0 Sunday, Dec. 2 in a 79-71 win over Johnson and Wales (2-4). Co-captain Peter Lynch ’13 led the Panthers with 22 points on 15 field goal attempts while pulling down 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Joey Kizel ’14, who has been slowed by some nagging injuries early in the season, had 20 points on eight for 15 shooting, while dishing out eight assists and recording five steals on the other end. Middlebury was playing without starting point guard Jake Wolfin ’13 who missed the game due to injury. In his absence, Kizel played 37 minutes — a season high.

“[With Wolfin] out, I felt like I had to pick up some of the slack and just play more aggressively,” Kizel said. “I’ve been feeling better physically, so that definitely helped me out from a confidence standpoint. I made a few shots early and I just got going.”

“It was great to have [Joey] back in prime form on Sunday, because we really needed him,” said head coach Jeff Brown. “He led us with his assists and also his ability to get to the basket and score. [He also] made a lot of huge plays — I believe it was two or three steals on the defensive end where Johnson and Wales had numbers on us and it looked from the bench that they were going to end up with a layup and he got deflections and won us the ball back. He really came up big during prime time.”

Hunter Merryman ’15 continued his terrific start to the season, converting five of nine shots, including three crucial threes in the second half, accounting for nine points of a 21-10 run over 8:26 that gave Middlebury a 76-65 lead with 1:32 remaining. Merryman finished the game with 15 points in 25 minutes and appears to have earned the sixth man role. The sophomore swingman is shooting better than 64 percent from beyond the arc this season.

“[Merryman] definitely opens up the court for us and if he continues to shoot like this it’s going to be tough to guard us,” Kizel said. “It’s easier for me because he’s just standing out there and most of the time he’s going to make it. He’s been playing great, hopefully he’ll keep it up.”

Co-captain Nolan Thompson ’13 was the fourth Panther to reach the double-digit mark, scoring 11 points on 11 shots in 39 minutes of play.

James Jensen ’14, meanwhile, scored eight first half points, but managed just one in the second half. He continues to look like one of the team’s most improved players as he has returned for his junior season with a considerably more polished offensive game.

“James has devoted a lot of time in the offseason to developing that part of his game and it makes him a tough matchup to guard because he’s got quickness and dribbling ability to go by defenders,” Brown said. “If he can hit that 15- to 17-foot jumpshot it does provide a new dimension with him on the floor.”

Twice in the first half Middlebury opened up substantial leads and seemed poised to run away with the game. The visitors scored eight of the game’s first nine points to open up a seven-point lead just 3:26 into the game and took their largest lead of the first half with 5:07 remaining when Thompson and Kizel made threes on consecutive possessions. Both times, however, Johnson and Wales rallied to take the lead, as guard Quarry Greenway scored 11 of his team-high 17 points in the first half. The hosts led for just over a minute in the first half — once at the 12:53 mark when forward Esaie Touze made a pair of free throws to complete a 12-4 Wild Cat run and again just before the buzzer sounded at the end of the half as Frank Robinson laid the ball in for two of his 14 points off the bench to give his team a 40-39 lead at the break. The hosts held their largest lead of the game — 49-43 — shortly after the break, which capped a 24-10 run that began with 5:07 left to play in the first half.

Middlebury responded, however, as Kizel came away with three key steals in a six-minute span on one end and Merryman provided some much needed scoring on the other. Lynch scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half as he had considerable room to work down low with Merryman, Kizel and Thompson spreading the floor.

“We had a couple huge threes and you can’t double down when Kizel, Merryman and Thompson [are on the floor],” Lynch said. “When Merryman [was] in the game it was a four out one in situation and I did have a lot of one-on-one situations [with a shorter defender guarding me].”

“Peter has a great knack [for scoring],” Brown said. “He can use both hands on the interior and he’s got some quickness when he receives the ball in the post and a true scorer’s mentality. I’ve been really pleased with what he’s done both on the offensive and defensive ends. He’s really been a force inside for us.”

Lynch played 35 minutes in the game, his career high.

“Towards the end even though I was tired I still felt like I could push through it — that it was worth it,” Lynch said. “I don’t know if I expect to see 35 minutes every NESCAC game, but in big games like that I can’t say I don’t like seeing [those minutes]. I love being in the game at the end of the game and being able to contribute.”

While the Panthers had balanced scoring with 39 points in the first half and 40 in the second, the team went through significant dry spells, making just two field goals over a 5:06 span to end the first half as well as other, less pronounced droughts.

“We just have to keep our minds set on being aggressive,” said Kizel. “We definitely need to improve on our consistency. If we have a lead, we don’t stop going — we just have to keep pushing.”

On the other end, Johnson and Wales received balanced scoring as all five starters scored seven or more points with four different players, including Robinson, reaching the double-digit mark.

Middlebury hosts Johnson State (3-4) and Skidmore (5-1) this week on Dec. 6 and Dec. 8, respectively. The Panthers played a tight game against Skidmore last year, but have not lost to the Thoroughbreds since the 2005-2006 season — the last time Middlebury had a losing season.