Men’s hoop improves to 6-0
SCHENECTADY — The Middlebury College men’s basketball finished the semester at 6-0 by picking up a 64-52 road win at Union on Saturday. The Panthers finished the week ranked No. 6 in NCAA Division III. Middlebury shot 50 percent from the floor, held the Dutchmen to .259 from the floor, and controlled the boards, 45-31.
Middlebury trailed at the half, 26-25, but took a two-point lead early in the second half. The Panthers then took charge with a 15-3 run over the next 5:31 to take a 48-34 lead on a dunk from Andrew Locke with 8:38 remaining. Union came within six at 3:48, but Middlebury pulled away for the 12-point win..
Locke led all scorers with 17 points and tied his own school record with seven blocked shots. Joey Kizel added eight points and six assists, while Jamal Davis and Ryan Wholey each scored eight. Ryan Sharry netted six points with a game-high eight rebounds.
 
Women’s hoop remains unbeaten
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — The Middlebury College women’s basketball team ended its first semester with a 65-57 win at Union and improved to 6-0 in the process. The Panthers shot .520 from the floor in the second half; outscored the Dutchwomen, 21-4, from the free throw line; and forced 32 Union turnovers.
The Panthers trailed by as many as nine in the second half before tying the game at 37-37. Union briefly regained the lead before Brittany Perfetti scored at the 11:46 mark to put the Panthers on top for good.
The game remained tight until the final few minutes. Union cut a Panther lead to 52-51, but a three-point play from Lauren Sanchez gave Middlebury a seven-point lead with 2:58 remaining. Middlebury then made seven of 10 free throws down the stretch to secure the 65-57 win.
Maddie Moreau led the Panthers with 20 points for the second straight game, tying her career high. Tracy Borsinger scored a career-best 15 in the win, while Sanchez added 13 points, six steals and four assists.
 
Men’s hockey splits in Maine
BIDDEFORD, Maine — The Middlebury College men’s hockey team split two weekend games in Maine and finished its first semester at 2-4. The Panthers are off until they host Skidmore on New Year’s Day.
On Saturday, Charles Nerbak scored three times and freshman Louis Belisle added two goals as Middlebury defeated host University of New England, 7-1. 
Middlebury scored its first four goals on tip-ins or redirectiomns. Belisle notched the initial goal on the power play 2:51 in, and Michael Longo doubled the Panthers’ advantage at 14:05 to make it 2-0 after one period.
Martin Drolet tipped home a shot midway thru the second, and Belisle made it 4-0 less than two minutes later. After a Nerbak power-play goal, UNE got on the board to make it 5-1 after two periods. Nerbak tacked on two goals in the third period.
John Yanchek made 12 saves for the Panthers, who held a 44-13 edge in shots . Mike Roper made 37 stops for UNE (1-5, 0-4).
On Friday, Middlebury lost, 5-3, at Southern Maine. USM’s Craig Perham snapped a 3-3 tie with a power-play goal with 7:52 remaining, and the Huskies added an empty-netter.
The teams traded goals in the first period. Jak Knelman gave Middlebury the lead at 4:36. Dan Rautenberg tied the game for USM four minutes later.
USM took the lead, 2-1, at 6:41 of the middle period. Nerbak equalized for Middlebury at 9:15. Perham’s first goal of the night restored USM’s lead at 12:12, but junior Tucker Donahoe scored an unassisted power-play goal at 15:54 to make it 3-3 entering the third.
USM goalie Braely Torris posted 32 saves to get the win. Nick BonDurant finished with 19 saves.  Middlebury had a 35-24 edge in shots.