Box Score Box
Score
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury never trailed on their way to
a 67-62 win over Williams at Pepin Gym on Saturday afternoon. With
the victory, the Panthers extend their school-record winning streak
to 14, while their Pepin Gym winning streak improves to nine in a
row, dating back to last season's 96-59 win over Williams in
the NESCAC Tournament. The win leaves Middlebury (18-2, 5-0) atop
the NESCAC standings, while Williams (14-6, 4-1) suffers their
first conference loss of the season.
The Panthers built an early 9-2 lead highlighted by threes from
Tim Edwards and Kyle Dudley lead before the Ephs responded with a
7-0 run, knotting the game at nine apiece with 16:01 left in the
first. With the game tied for the final time at 20-20 at the
7:50 mark, Middlebury closed out the first half on a 19-4 run.
Aaron Smith led the charge, scoring eight of his 14 points during
the run. A lay-up by Ryan Sharry at the buzzer gave the Panthers a
39-24 lead at intermission.
Middlebury maintained a double-digit lead through the early part
of the second half, but committed several fouls that put the Ephs
in the bonus at the 11:36 mark. Williams slowly chipped away at the
Panther lead from the line, connecting on their next 13 of 14 free
throws, including six by Blake Schultz. With 2:43 left, the
Middlebury lead was cut to 62-58 on a pair of free throws by
Williams' Kevin Snyder. Ben Rudin hit a jumper for the
Panthers at the 2:25 mark before Schultz answered with a jumper of
his own with 2:04 on the clock.
Trailing 64-60 with 45 seconds left, the Ephs fouled Smith who
hit both ends of the one-and-one for a 66-60 lead. Williams cut the
lead to four one final time before Dudley hit one of two free
throws with 17 seconds left for a 67-62 lead. The Ephs missed on
their next possession as Edwards collected the rebound for
Middlebury, sealing the win.
Rudin paced Middlebury scoring a team-high 15 points and dishing
out four assists. Smith chipped in 14 and Dudley added 11, while
Andrew Locke grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and blocked four
shots. Schultz led all scorers with 21 for Williams as Snyder
netted 14.
