Men’s Hoops Grabs a Pair at the Buzzer in Connecticut

Middlebury squeaked out two conferences wins over the weekend by a total of five points, then hammered Johnson State on the road in a 95-65 victory on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

For the second straight year, 40 minutes were not enough to decide the outcome between the Panthers and the Wesleyan Cardinals. Last year, Middlebury won by a single point in an overtime thriller at Pepin Gymnasium. This year’s game on Friday, Jan. 17, ended in a 77-75 double-overtime victory for Middlebury. On Sunday, Jan. 19, the Panthers did not lead the game until a last-second three from Dylan Sinnickson ’15 gave them a 64-61 advantage over the Connecticut College Camels. Head coach Brown was not discouraged by how close both games were.

“Thinking back to last season, we won three of our [first] four NESCAC games by a total of six points. So in reality, it’s not much different than it was a year ago when we had tremendous success within the league and in the postseason,” coach Brown said.

The Panthers landed in Middletown, Conn. hoping to continue their NESCAC winning streak begun last Sunday in the home victory over Tufts.

Last weekend, the team’s first against NESCAC competition, Panthers fans welcomed the return of Sinnickson, who pleased the crowd with two stellar games, averaging 23.5 minutes, 19.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks on the weekend. His performance against Bates earned him a slot in the starting lineup against Tufts, and his consistency last weekend gave coach Brown reason to start Sinnickson again on Friday.

“He has increased his range and is shooting the ball extremely well from the three-point line,” coach Brown said. “He is playing at a high level for us.”

Sinnickson showed off his shooting ability against Wesleyan, hitting on six of 12 three-pointers, tallying 18 points to go along with six rebounds, helping to give the Panthers a heart-stopping double overtime victory.

“Heading into my sophomore year I developed a three-point shot,” Sinnickson said. “It was not a part of my game at all my freshman year, but now it is a strength.”

Not to be outdone, captain Joey Kizel ’14 matched Sinnickson with 18 points, just missing his first double-double of the season with nine assists, and was a horse in the marathon-like contest, logging 44 minutes.

Some of Kizel’s points came in huge moments. After knocking down a jumper with under three minutes to play in regulation to tie the game, Kizel one-upped himself in the first overtime when he drilled a long-range three-pointer with 20 seconds on the clock to knot the game at 67 apiece. In the second overtime, a big three and two free throws from Kizel helped the Panthers hold on for a victory. Kizel finished with 12 overtime points.

“I don’t think that I have ever coached a player who has made as many big shots when the game is on the line [as Kizel] … He wants the ball when the game is on the line,” coach Brown said.

The Cardinals had last-shot opportunities at the end of all three periods. At the end of regulation, Wesleyan ran an in-bounds play from under the basket but missed the buzzer beater. Good defense by the Panthers stopped the Cardinals from getting a good look at the end of the first overtime. Finally, in the second overtime, on the Panthers’ penultimate possession, Matt St. Amour ’17 hit 1-2 free throws, giving Middlebury a 75-73 lead. After a Wesleyan lay-up to tie the game, St. Amour drew a foul to go to the line. The first-year hit both this time, securing a 77-75 win.

“It’s the situation any basketball player dreams about, at the free throw line with the game on the line,” St. Amour said. “It was great to be in that spot and be able to come through for the team. Everyone battled hard, and it was a gutsy team win.”

Coach Brown applauded the first-year’s improvement at this point in the season.

“Matt plays a pretty complete game,” coach Brown said. “His individual and team defense have continued to improve. He has good court awareness and is blending well with his teammates.”

The Panthers completed their trip to Connecticut on Sunday with a thrilling 64-61 win over Conn. College. Staying hot from beyond the arch, Sinnickson, the Panthers’ high-scorer with 22, drained a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining off of a pick and roll with Kizel to seal the win. Sinnickson would finish the game 4-8 from three-point land.

“I knew we were going to get a good shot off that play,” Kizel said. “I thought I was going to be open, but they switched onto me so I passed to Dylan. He made a clean catch and he hit a huge shot.”

“We really have leaned a lot on the two-man game between Dylan and Joey ... It’s just very hard to defend the two of them,” Coach Brown said. “Throughout the course of the game we’ve run that play many times with great success.”

Kizel scored 16 in the win, the only player besides Sinnickson to reach double digits for Middlebury, and filled up the stat sheet with five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Sinnickson added 10 rebounds on the night, earning a double-double.

The Camels opened the contest on a 10-0 run, and did not trail the game until Sinnickson’s deciding three-pointer.

“I felt like our guys were ready to go,” coach Brown said. “[Conn.] hit a couple of shots right at the start of the game. I’m just not real sure why we got off to such a slow start. We’re struggling with the lack of presence inside to get some easy baskets to kind of loosen up the perimeter a little bit.”

The Panthers got help on the offensive end from up and down the roster, with nine different players registering a bucket. St. Amour shot well from the line (6-7 FT), and finished with eight points. Bryan Jones ’17 saw action for the second time this year and was productive in four minutes, knocking down his only shot, a three-pointer, and ripping down two rebounds. James Jensen ’14 tied the game at 61-61 with 1:34 remaining off of a full-court heave from Kizel.

“We need to get better contributions from the whole group,” coach Brown said. “A piece of that … is really trying to get out in transition so that in those situations we can get lay-ups and get some scoring at the rim.”

The in-state matchup with Johnson St. on Tuesday, Jan. 21, was tight for the first six minutes of play, with both teams shooting particularly well. However, from that point forward, Middlebury proceeded to widen the gap. The Panthers shot 55 percent from the field for the game, including 11-22 from deep, matching a season high in three-pointers.

Sinnickson led the Panthers in scoring with 20 and added five rebounds. Hunter Merryman ’16 had an efficient day, hitting six of seven shots, all of three his attempts from beyond the arc and finished with 17 points. Kizel and Jack Roberts ’14 also scored in double digits, with 11 and 10 respectively.

Middlebury returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 23, with a home matchup with St. Joseph’s. After taking the weekend off, NESCAC play will resume for the Panthers when they host Williams on Friday, Jan. 31.