Box Score
MIDDLEBURY, VT--Utterly obscene second half shooting propelled
the host Panthers of Middlebury College (20-6, 6-3) to a win over
Williams (17-9, 4-5) in the first round of the NESCAC tournament
Saturday. The Panthers shot 63% in the second half to blow
open the game in the second half, and finished the game shooting
58% from the floor.
Williams kept it close up until the half and only trailed by
three heading into the locker for intermission.
"I thought we played well offensively in the first half - we
shot 48% - but had a tough time stopping them defensively," Ephs
head coach Dave Paulsen said.
Middlebury turned on the jets in the second half, out-scoring
the Ephs 54 to 20. The Panthers were hot all game, but a
ridiculous 7 for 8 from behind the arc in the second half (12 for
16 on the game) proved too much for the Ephs.
"Some of those shots they hit were deep shots, guarded shots,"
said Paulsen, "it might've been just one of those games for
them...we did give them some open looks that they knocked down in
the first half though, and that probably gave them some momentum
that carried over into the second half."
Forward Aaron Smith led the Panthers in scoring with 17 points
on an efficient 7 for 11 from the field, but the real story for the
Panthers offensively was an incredible six players scoring in
double digits.
Efficiency marked the Ephs leading scorer as well, as sophomore
Blake Shultz scored 19 points on 6 of 10 shooting and 5 for 6 from
the free throw line, however the Ephs only managed to put three
players in double-figures and required too many shots to do so in
shooting just 36% from the field.
Middlebury will advance to the semifinals of the NESCAC
tournament. Game time, opponent, and location are TBA.
