Middlebury won its fourth straight game as the Panthers opened up the second half of the season with a 62-46 win over Rensselaer in Pepin Gym. Middlebury held RPI (4-4) to just 4-29 (.138) shooting from the floor in the second half, including 0-10 from three-point range, as they improve to 8-2 on the year.
The Engineers trailed by two early before a 8-0 spurt gave them a 16-10 lead with 12:44 left in the first half. Sam Simmons scored six of his 19 first half points during the run, as he went 9 of 14 with eight rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
Tim Edwards scored seven points during a 12-2 run for the Panthers, giving them a 31-24 lead at the 3:12 mark.
Leading 34-30 at the half, Middlebury outscored its opponent 13-3 over the first seven minutes of the second half to take a 49-34 advantage at 13:00. The Panthers would lead by as many as 19 before cruising to the 62-46 win.
Edwards paced the Panthers with 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Andrew Locke scored a dozen with nine boards and four assists. Ryan Sharry netted 11 in the win, while Ben Rudin scored nine with four steals. Simmons led all scorers with 25 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.