Box Score Middlebury, Vt. -- Middlebury  hit 7-of-14 threes and went a perfect 17-17 from the line to beat Skidmore in a non-league contest 74-53 in Pepin Gym.

Trailing by as many as eight points early in the game, Middlebury (8-0) closed out the half shooting 70% from the floor, including a perfect 5-5 from behind the arc, turning an eight-point deficit into a five-point lead at the break.            

Panton, Vermont native Connor Merrill got the Thoroughbreds (5-2) going, starting a 7-0 run on a jumper. By the 11:06 mark, Skidmore's lead grew to 16-8 on a three by Brian Moore. The teams traded a pair of buckets each before the Panthers started their blistering shooting performance to close out the half.

Nolan Thompson's first three sparked the run at 8:29, cutting the deficit to 20-15. After a pair of Panther buckets followed a Merrill lay-up, Thompson struck again with his second three at 3:27. Trailing 28-24 after a basket by Skidmore's Doolun Anyam at 1:52, a trifecta of threes ended the half for the Panthers. Joel Kizel had back-to back treys, giving Middlebury its first lead at 30-28 with 51 seconds left. In the final seconds of the half, Kizel set up Hunter Merriman for the buzzer-beating trey and a 33-28 lead at the break.
 
The Panthers used a 16-6 run to open the second half, building a 49-34 lead with 12:34 on the clock. Three times the Thoroughbreds cut the lead to 11 over the next few minutes, but they could not get the deficit down to single-digits. Leading 56-45 with 8:48 remaining, Middlebury used a 12-2 burst to pull away over the next three minutes, cruising to the 74-53 victory.

 Aldin Medunjanin led all scorers with 17, hitting 6-14 from the floor, while Merrill added 15 on 6-12 shooting for Skidmore.

"Give credit to Middlebury tonight," said Skidmore coach Joe Burke. "I thought their seniors played like seniors and over time their experience took a toll on us."

 "The score was not indicative of how tough the game was. This was another learning experience for our young guys and we will get better from it. Going forward it is important for us to play well on Tuesday as we head into the break. The break will serve us well so that we can get some guys healthy."