MacDougall Scores 30 For Bantams,
Panthers Take Top Seed in NESCAC
Hartford, Conn. - Senior co-captain guard Ben Rudin
(Scarsdale, N.Y.) drove the length of the floor and dished
to sophomore center Andrew Locke (Seattle, Wash.)
for the game-winning lay-up with three seconds left in the second
overtime to lead the visiting Middlebury College Panthers to a
87-76 win over the Trinity College Bantams in New England Small
College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) men's basketball action this
evening at Oosting Gymnasium.
Trinity falls to 8-14 overall and 3-5 in the NESCAC, while the
Panthers, ranked No. 13 in the nation, improve to a 21-2 overall
and 8-0 in the league with their 17th consecutive victory.
Middlebury's win total and winning streak are both school
records. The Panthers, which have also won 10 straight NESCAC
road games, clinch the top seed in the NESCAC Championship
Tournament for the first time in school history. Trinity has
also clinched its ninth consecutive appearance in the league's
post-season tournament.
Trinity took a 76-74 lead in the first minute of the second
overtime on a jumper by sophomore forward Luke MacDougall
(Baldwinsville, N.Y.), but the Panther defense held
Trinity without a point the rest of the way. Free throws by
Middlebury junior forward Tim Edwards (Greenwich,
Conn.) and sophomore forward Jamal Davis
(Brooklyn, N.Y.) tied the game at 76-76 with two minutes
on the clock. Trinity had the ball in the final minute but
the Middlebury defense forced a long three-point try by sophomore
guard Ian Fels (Miami, Fla.) as the shot clock
expired. Locke rebounded the ball, passed to Rudin and
sprinted to the Middlebury basket to receive Rudin's pass for the
clincher.
Trinity freshmen center Chris Applegate (High Point,
N.C.) had forced the first overtime on a put-back with
nine seconds left in regulation, and Middlebury overcame a
six-point deficit with under a minute to play in the first extra
frame. Rudin scored two layups in the final 31 seconds of the
first overtime, and Panther senior guard Kyle Dudley
(Scarsdale, N.Y.) stole a Trinity pass to set Rudin up for
the second one.
MacDougall came off the bench to lead all scorers with a
career-high 30 points, making 1o out of 15 shots from the field,
three out of four from long range, and seven out of eight from the
foul line. Bantam senior co-captain forward Aaron
Westbrooks (Dublin, Ireland) added 11 points and eight
rebounds, while senior co-captain guard Paul Rowe
(Brooklyn, N.Y.) had 10 points and five boards.
Applegate controlled the glass with a game-high 12 rebounds
and blocked a pair of shots and Fels dished out six assists.
Rudin totaled 23 points and six assists for Middlebury, while
senior co-captain forward Aaron Smith (West Hartford,
Conn.) added 15 points, and freshman forward Ryan
Sharry (Braintree, Mass.) had 11 points and a team-high
nine rebounds off the Panther bench.
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