Middlebury utilized a 7-0 run in a 53-second span during the second half Sunday and turned a three-point advantage to double figures, cruising to an 87-78 victory over Rensselaer in the team's home-opener. Middlebury (5-0) returns to action Tuesday when it travels to St. Joseph's (Vermont) for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff, while RPI (1-3) hosts Williams at 8:00 p.m. on the same day.

The teams traded baskets in the opening minutes as the Engineers grabbed their last lead of the contest (15-14) on a layup by Josh Dugas with 12:34 left in the opening half. Trailing by one, Middlebury went on a 16-5 run over a span of 6:48 and led 31-19 with just under six minutes left on a layup by Chris Churchill. Bryan Jones, Nick Tarantino and Jake Brown each had four points during the spurt, while Connor Huff knocked in a three-point field goal. The Panthers took a double-digit lead into the break at 39-29.

In the second half, Middlebury's Hunter Merryman knocked down a three-pointer on the opening possession, giving the Panthers a 13-point edge at 42-29. RPI climbed back into the contest hitting seven of its opening eight field goal attempts as part of a 16-4 run and cut the Middlebury advantage to just one (46-45) at the 14:36 mark. Tyler Gendron fueled the Engineer run with eight of his game-high 21 points.

The hosts pushed the lead back to a two-possession game at 53-47 on a free throw by Merryman, but RPI's Josh Dugas converted a rare four-point play at 12:02 and trimmed the deficit to a pair.   

In the back-and-forth game, Middlebury regained a six-point lead, but RPI's Asa Barnhill tallied an old-fashioned three-point play, cutting the Panther advantage to three at 57-54 with 9:05 left. During the ensuing Middlebury possession, Dylan Sinnickson started the decisive run with a step-back three-pointer. He followed that with a layup on an assist from Matt St. Amour, and St. Amour capped off the spurt with a steal and layup of his own giving Middlebury a 64-54 lead with 8:12 remaining.

On the next possession, the Engineers cut the lead to seven on another traditional three-point play from Brian Hatcher. During the next 4:14, Middlebury rattled off a 16-6 run as the lead ballooned up to 17 points (80-63), as the Panthers eased to the win.  

Sinnickson led four Panthers in double-figures with 18, while Brown added 14, St. Amour had 13 and Merryman chipped in with 11. Sinnickson and Tarantino each pulled down eight rebounds. Brown and St. Amour both dished out five assists, while Brown was credited with six steals.

In addition to Gendron's 21 points and eight rebounds for RPI, Dugas was right behind with 20. Hatcher added 15 points and eight boards, while Chase Almond recorded 10 points. Nate Kane handed out a team-high five assists. 

For the game, RRI shot 55.8% (29-52), including 73.1% (19-26) in the second half. Middlebury finished at 49.3% (33-67) from the floor. The Panthers committed just eight turnovers in the contest, and forced the Engineers into 18 miscues.