While most students were dancing or carving ice over the weekend, the Middlebury men’s basketball team was making history for the second time this season. With a 61-41 win over Connecticut College on Saturday, the team advances to the NESCAC semifinals for the fourth consecutive year. Meanwhile, a season-ending domination of Green Mountain College just two days earlier gave head coach Jeff Brown his 200th victory with the school, the most any coach has had in the history of the school.
Action began Thursday as the Panthers took the floor of Pepin Gymnasium for the final time of the regular season trying to net coach Brown his 200th win. With Middlebury resting all of its regular season starters in preparation for the opening round of the NESCAC finals two days later, it was up to the bench to net coach Brown his milestone. Getting off to an early 20-5 lead, thanks in large part to the sharp-shooting of junior guard Winslow Hicks ’12 who connected on all three of his first attempts behind the line, the Panthers would use their trademark defense to maintain control of the game.
Although the Eagles were able to close the gap to nine points late in the first half after a three-pointer from Kenneth Williams and consecutive three-point play from Peiton Woodall, it would be the closest the team would come to retaking the lead. Going on a 6-0 run of their own to end the period, the Panthers found themselves up 39-24 at halftime.
Throughout the entirety of the second period, Middlebury put on the defensive display that has supported their run throughout the season, holding the Eagles to an incredible less than 10 percent shooting from the floor while shooting over 50 percent themselves. All 10 players who entered the game during the period found their way into the scoring column while the team cruised to a 74-30 final score, getting coach Brown his monumental victory.
Sophomore Forward Peter Lynch ’13 led the team with a career-high 16 points while Hicks and guard Albert Nascimento ’14 added 13 and 10 respectively, also career highs for the two players. With the win, coach Brown is 200-149 in his Middlebury career, including an incredible 90-14 over the last four seasons.
However, there was not much time to dwell on the historic victory as the second-seeded Panthers were right back to work two days later in the opening round of the single elimination NESCAC finals against seventh-seeded Connecticut College at Pepin. Even with 6’10 senior center Andrew Locke ’11 out of action for the game, the Panthers still put their tenacious defense on display, holding the Camels to 22 percent shooting from the floor and only 2-18 behind the three-point line. With Locke out of the lineup, the Camels attacked the hoop early and often, getting off to an early 4-1 lead after a pair of lay ups.
However, it would be the only lead Connecticut College would take during the game, as a 7-0 Middlebury run soon after gave the Panthers a lead they would hold until the final buzzer sounded. Already leading by 16 at the half, Middlebury put its lockdown defense on full display, holding the Camels to 2-10 field goal shooting while forcing five turnovers early in the period to amass the 20 point lead they would end the game with.
The Panthers got great scoring from their bench, including a game-high 13 points from freshmen Joey Kizel ‘14 while Sophomore guard Jake Wolfin ’13 added 10 points with a game-high seven assists. The Panthers will play Amherst next weekend in their fourth consecutive NESCAC Semi-finals at Williams.
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