Middlebury men roar to perfect 5-0 record New-look Panther squad turns heads with best start since 1917-18 season

Author: Jeff Klein

During pre-season, men's basketball coach Jeff Brown saw promise in his young team. "The teamwork, cooperation and work ethic are all strong," he said at the time. Six games into the regular season, his words are ringing true - unbelievably true.

In front of a boisterous Middlebury crowd, the men's basketball team defeated Union 68-64 last Saturday, Dec. 3 moving their record to a perfect 5-0 on the season. It marks the first time since the team's inaugural season in 1917-1918 that the Panthers have achieved such a record.

"The 5-0 start is really important because of all the youth and new faces," said first-year guard/forward Ben Ehrlich. "Our being able to have chemistry and confidence right off the bat flattens out the learning curve to some extent."

Indeed it has, considering the fact that two of the team's first-years, Ben Rudin '09 and Kyle Dudley '09, essentially carried the team to victory. Both first-years attended high school in Scarsdale, N.Y., and have been playing ball together for years. Rudin notched 16 points and eight assists, and Dudley led the team with 18 points, including a clutch three-pointer from the corner with 10 seconds remaining and the team up by a point, all but securing the win.

"As soon as I got the ball and released it, I thought I was going to make it," said Dudley of his three-ball. "When I saw Ben [Rudin] penetrate, I knew he was going to get me the ball because the defender in the zone had to stay with Ben. Also, we've played together so many times and know each other's games."

Dudley's shot finally wrapped up the win that the team probably should have secured long before the final seconds of the game. The Panthers roared off to a ferocious start and closed the first half with a 12-4 run to take a 36-25 lead into halftime. They still led comfortably for a good part of the second half, building their lead up to 13, before Union stormed back and took a 48-47 lead at the 8:47 mark. From then on, the game was a painfully close affair, with the Panthers nursing a small lead for the last few minutes of the game. After John Cagianello, the game's leading scorer with 33 points, nailed a three to bring Union within one point, Dudley smoothly worked his magic to put the game out of reach for the Dutchmen.

When the final buzzer sounded, the team leapt into a frenzy, storming the court and mobbing Dudley in a big heap on the floor. "It's really hard to describe the feeling," Dudley said. "The way that we won is just so amazing. This team is just so excited to be 5-0."

Equally exciting is the fact that Dudley is already playing such a significant role on the team as a mere first-year. "Coming in, I didn't really know what my role was going to be. Now, being able to contribute in such a major way is great. Hopefully I can keep it up and do whatever I can to help the team win."

That humble, team-first attitude epitomizes the approach to the game taken by the entire team, a close-knit squad with strong camaraderie. "The team gets along great and I think it shows," said Ehrlich. "We see every practice and game as basically a chance to play some basketball with friends. There is no selfishness on this team, no 'me-first' attitude. We support each other, have fun and take care of business."

On Tuesday, Dec. 6, the Panthers knocked off Renesselaer 69-65 to match last season's win total and improve to 6-0. With a jump-start from a couple of new faces, men's basketball has sure been taking care of business lately.