Men's Basketball Moves to 7-3 on Season

Author: Matt Ross

Before winter break the Panthers went on a three game tear, winning their first league game by defeating Hamilton 90-88. Simon Behan '05 led the team in scoring, dropping 22 points, including going 12-13 from the line down the stretch to secure the win. Middlebury capitalized on this momentum by storming through the Norwich tournament, creaming St. Joseph's 102-61 in the semis, and rolling over Norwich 77-60. Adam Sinoway '05 led the team in the tournament with 32 points.
The team returned to school admittedly flat. As Nate Anderson '04 commented, "It seemed like winter break knocked us out of sync." Last week, the Panthers went 1-2, losing games to Rensselaer and Colby-Sawyer. Middlebury came out hot in the Rensselaer game, shooting 47 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc in the first half, but the defense allowed Rensselaer to shoot 51 percent from the floor and 67 percent from three-point range, spotting them a one-point lead at the half. Middlebury hung with Rensselaer for the rest of the game, but the team's free throw shooting sealed their fate as they missed 12 of 18 attempts, leaving them 12-30 in the 84-81 loss.
The team bounced back against Norwich, shooting 53 percent from the field and 71 percent from the line to put the Cadets away in an 85-74 victory. Unfortunately, the win was short-lived as the Panthers scored a season low 71 points in their ensuing loss to Colby-Sawyer -- a game the team hopes to be quick to forget. Captain Dave Coratti '04 said, "We like to think we have a short memory as a team. We don't like to linger in our wins and we sure don't like to wallow in our losses."
Bouncing back may be harder than imagined as the team has lost three of four point guards. Fortunately Koby Altman '04 should be back on the team soon, and in the mean time, sure-handed John Verzosa '04 will handle the rock.
With games today and Thursday, the team needs to regain its momentum before tipping-off against perennial rival Williams.
Tip-off is at 4 p.m. in Pepin Gym this Saturday. Nate Anderson thinks the team is ready: "I'm confident that we'll find our rhythm before our league schedule starts."