Middlebury, Vt. - Ryan Sharry scored 18 points and grabbed
seven boards as the No. 2-seed Middlebury College Panthers men's
basketball team edged the No. 7 seed Trinity College Bantams 56-52
in a NESCAC Championship Tournament quarterfinal match-up at Pepin
Gym this afternoon. The loss ends Trinity season, after
finishing with a 10-14 mark. Middlebury advances to the
semifinal round of the tournament, which will be played next Sat.
Middlebury took a 6-2 lead early behind a pair of hoops from
Andrew Locke, but their shooting would go ice-cold
for much of the half. Trailing 8-6, Trinity went on a 9-0 run to
take a 15-8 lead with 11:14 left in the half. The Bantams extended
their lead to as many as eight, with Middlebury's Nolan
Thompson tying the game at 24 with 1:55 left in the half
following one of six blocks from Locke. Trinity answered, taking a
28-26 lead into the intermission. The Panthers made just 1 of 10
three-point field goals in the first half, shooting .310 overall
from the floor.
Trinity led early in the second half, until the Panthers tied
the game at 39 on a three-point play from Sharry with 12:44
remaining. The teams exchange threes late, with junior
Brian Ford (Bronx, N.Y.) knocking one down for
Trinity before Jake Wolfin answered for the Panthers to give his
team a 53-52 lead with 2:14 remaining.
Trailing by one, the Bantams had the ball with 34 seconds
remaining, but turned it over. Wolfin hit a pair of free throws on
the other end of the court before the Bantams missed a three with
21 seconds remaining. Sharry hit one of two free throws to put the
game out of reach as the Panthers emerged with the 56-52 victory.
Sharry led all scorers with 18 points, while pulling down seven
rebounds. Tim Edwards added 14 points, while Wolfin netted seven
with six assists. Senior Ian Fels (Miami, Fl.) led
Trinity with 15 points, while Ford scored 13, and senior
tri-captain Luke MacDougall (Baldwinsville, N.Y.)
grabbed a game-high 12 boards.
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