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Middlebury's Nolan Thompson became the 17th player in Middlebury College men's basketball history to surpass the 1,000 point plateau as the third-ranked Panthers (15-0, 5-0) earned a 66-47 NESCAC win over Hamilton (8-9, 1-4) in Pepin Gym. Thompson finished the contest with a game-high 18 points to bring his career total to 1,015 in 98 career games. Middlebury returns to action on Wednesday at St. Joseph's of Vermont.
Trailing 3-2, Thompson drilled a three from the left corner to put him at 1,000 career points and his team up 5-3. Middlebury continued its run, taking a 14-3 lead on a bucket from Hunter Merryman with 14:03 left in the first half. The lead remained at double-digits, with the Panthers taking a 32-22 lead into the intermission.
Trailing by 13 early in the second half, Hamilton went on a 7-0 run to make it a 35-29 game with 16:24 on the clock. Peter Kazickas hit a three and a pair of free throws to spark the run. The Continentals later came within five on two occasions, before a 9-0 spurt gave Middlebury a 49-35 advantage with 8:02 remaining. A two and a three from Thompson paced the Panthers on the key run.
A three from Hamilton's Greg Newton ended the run, with the Panthers responding by scoring the next eight points to push their lead to 57-38 with 4:35 remaining. Hamilton came within 16 and Middlebury led by as many as 22 as they came away with the 66-47 win.
Merryman aided Thompson's effort with 13 points, while Peter Lynch scored 10 with seven boards. Jake Wolfin added eight points and eight assists in the game, while Jack Roberts had seven rebounds and four blocks. Matt Hart paced Hamilton with 14, while Newton had five assists.
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