Men's basketball tops Skidmore, wins eighth straight

Author: Jeff Klein

The Panthers are in the zone right now.

Thwarting several comeback attempts by its opponent, the Middlebury men's basketball team bent but did not break in a 72-62 home win over Skidmore this past Saturday, Jan. 10.

With the victory, the Panthers have now won eight games in a row heading into conference play this Friday.

"We have been a very confident team from the beginning this year," said Kyle Dudley '09. "We enter each game thinking we are the better team and that we are tough to beat when we play hard and execute our game plan for 40 minutes."

Aaron Smith '09, who finished with nine points to go along with nine boards, concurred.

"If we are intense and active on offense and defense for 40 minutes," he said, "we are an extremely tough team to beat."

Despite the fact that they were playing the Thoroughbreds, it was the Panthers who came out of the gate racing, as they jumped out to a commanding 21-5 lead.

The combination of Middlebury's efficient offense and suffocating defense made it seem as if this would be an easy day for the Panthers.

However, that did not prove to be the case. A 10-2 run by Skidmore, including three straight buckets from Bobby Langford, cut the Panther lead to 25-17 at the 5:09 mark of the first half. Middlebury extended its lead back to 11, but a serendipitous three-pointer by Sam Cohen-Devries as time expired got Skidmore to within 32-25 at the half.

The intermission did not diminish the Thoroughbreds' momentum. A slam dunk by Langford at the 14:32 mark cut the Middlebury lead to one as Pepin Gymnasium grew unusually quiet.

Yet the Panthers once again showed their strength and mental fortitude in tough situations.

Skidmore could not get a shot off on its ensuing possession, and Middlebury then went on an 8-0 run, sparked by three pointers from Dudley and Ryan Wholey '11.

Dudley finished the game with four threes and continues to be an explosive weapon on the offensive end.

"It's a great feeling hitting a three and hearing the home crowd cheering," said Dudley. "It increases intensity on defense and gives more confidence on the offensive end. It's a lot of fun and it's great to have the support from the fans."

Skidmore closed to within five on a pair of free throws, but Middlebury clamped down and did not allow the Thoroughbreds to get any closer. Solid free-throw shooting down the stretch from Ben Rudin '09 led to the Panthers' 10-point margin of victory.

Rudin led Middlebury in both points and assists - 19 and 6, respectively - and also pulled down eight rebounds in 34 minutes of action. Dudley had 16 points and Tim Edwards '09.5 added 10.

According to Smith, the team's defensive play and experience were the keys to victory.

"I thought our defense overall was pretty good," he said. "Although our offense struggled at times, our defense kept us ahead. We definitely used our experience to our advantage in finding a way to win even after Skidmore made a couple runs at us."

Saturday's game, however, made clear several areas in which Middlebury must look to improve.

"We can definitely improve on creating more transition points," said Smith. "Because we have such a deep bench, we need to do a better job of beating teams down the floor and getting easy baskets. Also, we need to sustain a high level of energy the entire game."

The Panthers begin NESCAC play with two home games, hosting Bates on Friday night and Tufts on Saturday afternoon.

Having won eight straight games, the team is confident and eager to extend the streak.

Still, like every motivated team, the Panthers are wary of overconfidence and know that they must improve to reach the high goals they have set for themselves.

"We do have a momentum boost going into conference play," said Smith, "but we know we have a lot to work on. In the NESCAC, any team can win or lose on any given night so we really have to be focused for each game."

"We have played great team basketball both offensively and defensively during the eight-game winning streak," commented Dudley, "but also realize that we need to play better to have the kind of success we expect in the NESCAC."

"We're an experienced team and we know how tough it is to win the NESCAC," Smith concluded. "But we have been preparing for that goal all season and we're excited to start working towards it."