Men’s basketball wins record-setting 11th straight contest

As the new year rolls on, the Middlebury College men’s basketball team continues to rack up victories, setting a school record with an 11-0 start to the season after crushing Lyndon State 87-50 on Sunday.

“We are excited about the record start to the season,” said head coach Jeff Brown. “We have competed extremely well on defense and offensively we are a very balanced team.”

The Panthers got off to a 6-0 start to the season before the end of the semester put their success on pause. Picking up 2011 right where they left off, the Panthers beat Rensselaer 77-60 in their first game back on Jan. 2 to improve to 7-0. Middlebury, ranked fifth at the time, secured the victory with stingy defense that saw Rennsselaer shoot less than 30 percent from the field. On offense, the Panthers had great ball movement and  racked up 22 assists on the night, 12 of which came from standout sophomore guard Jake Wolfin ’13. Ryan Sharry ’12 continued his team-leading performances with a game-high 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Nolan Thompson ’13 nailed three of his six three-point attempts.

Following that strong showing, the Panthers went undefeated on a two-game road stint. First, Middlebury defeated 22nd-ranked Plattsburgh in a close 88-82 contest. Heavily aided by a 12-1 run in the middle of the third quarter, the Panthers were able to hold on in the second half to push their record to 8-0. Tri-captain Ryan Wholey ’11 scored a career-high 24 points to lead his team to the win, while Wolfin added 12 points and 10 assists. The Panthers were able to hold off a terrific effort from Plattsburgh’s Josh Bruno, who scored 24 points while going six for six from behind the arc.

Middlebury’s next victim was Colby-Sawyer, defeating the Chargers in an 80-54 contest that saw the Panthers get their tenacious defense back on track. Tri-captain and center Andrew Locke ’11 dominated on both sides of the floor, leading all scorers with 15 points while adding 10 rebounds and 10 blocks for a triple double. Sharry added 14 points and eight rebounds for the 9-0 Panthers.

Returning to Pepin to face Skidmore last Saturday, the sixth-ranked Panthers continued their hot shooting, making 46 percent of their field goal attempts while going on to win 85-72 to improve their record to 10-0 on the season. Middlebury never gave up the lead after gaining it five minutes into the first half, using a 10-0 run led by Sharry to take control soon after. Sharry and Thompson both scored 17 for the Panthers in a game where four Panthers scored in double figures.

The team’s latest victory, a historic one, came on Sunday against Lyndon State, with an easy 87-50 victory that saw the Panthers open the season 11-0 for the first time in school history. The Panthers used two big scoring streaks to gain a 31-10 lead that they would never relinquish.

Middlebury held Lyndon State to a meager 27 percent shooting from the floor, while Nolan Thompson used his 23 minutes on the floor incredibly efficiently to rack up 22 points, including five three-point field goals. Additionally, Sharry’s second-half slam dunk punctuated the win in convincing fashion, giving fans something to cheer about in an otherwise uninteresting period that saw Middlebury double the Lyndon State score on several occasions. Many Panthers contributed points and saw court time in the game, which showcased the great depth of coach Brown’s stellar team.

With NESCAC playing beginning next week, Middlebury will look to continue their historic winning streak at Tufts on Friday.