The Middlebury men's basketball team scored eight of the first 10 points in overtime and never looked back, edging past Hamilton 82-77 in a key NESCAC game Sunday inside Pepin Gymnasium. The Panthers (14-4, 3-3) return to the court when they host Keene State on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., while Hamilton remains on the road and battles Tufts on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.

In the opening half, the teams traded made baskets over the opening few minutes as Joe Pucci gave Hamilton its last lead of the game (5-4) on a jumper with 15:12 left in the half. Middlebury rattled off a 12-3 run over the next 3:06 and gained a 16-8 advantage, including three-point field goals from Hunter Merryman and Dean Brierley during the spurt.

A couple possessions later, Joseph Lin knocked down a three and cut the Panther lead to five at 16-11 with 11:22 left. The hosts responded with a 9-2 run spanning 3:52 of action, capped off via a fast-break lay-up by Matt Daley, and owned their largest lead of the contest of 12 (25-13) with 7:30 showing on the clock. The Continentals, who knocked down 7-11 shots from beyond the arc in the opening half, continued to chip away at the Middlebury lead. The visitors eventually cut the deficit to four (35-31) on a three in the final seconds of the opening half from Kyle Pitman.

In the opening 20 minutes, Middlebury owned a decided 25-10 rebounding advantage.

Out of the break, momentum swings happened for each team. The Panthers led by eight at 41-33 on a jumper from Merryman with 15:02 left. Hamilton answered with an 8-2 run, cutting the Panther lead to a pair (43-41) at the 12:20 mark. The hosts came right back with an 8-0 spurt of their own over 1:46 of play, capped off with a fast-break lay-up from Sinnickson at 10:34.

Much like the first half, the Continentals fought back and sliced the Middlebury advantage to just a pair at 61-59 with 45 seconds left via a jumper by Pucci. After a pair of Jake Brown free throws put Middlebury up four, Hamilton's Peter Kazickas nailed a deep three from the corner after Lin saved it from going over the timeline and cut the Panther edge to a single point (63-62) with 14 ticks left.

With Hamilton forced to foul, Middlebury's Matt St. Amour converted a pair of charity tosses with 10 seconds left, giving the hosts a 65-62 lead. Out of timeouts, Lin raced the ball up the floor and nailed a deep three from straight on, sending the game to an extra period.

In the overtime, a pair of lay-ups from Daley sandwiched around a jumper from Merryman gave Middlebury a 71-67 lead with 2:28 left. Again forced to put Middlebury at the free throw line trailing by four with 1:15 left, the Panthers knocked down 11-12 free throws down the stretch, including a perfect 6-6 from St. Amour in overtime coupled with his two in the final minute of regulation.

Sinnickson finished with his 11th double-double of the season consisting of 23 points and a career-best 21 boards. The 21 boards in a game are the second-most in program history, and the highest total since Aaron Smith had 20 on November 19, 2008 against Lyndon State. Merryman tied Sinnickson for team-high honors with 23 points and pulled down six rebounds, while Daley added a season-high 18 points and career-best 16 rebounds. St. Amour had a nice all-around game with eight points, nine rebounds and a team-best seven assists.

Kazickas led Hamilton with 21 points, including five threes, and pulled down six rebounds, while Lin added 17 points and a game-high nine assists. Jack Donnelly also finished in double-figures with 14 points.

Middlebury possessed a huge advantage for the contest on the glass (59-26), as the Panthers matched Hamilton's rebound total yanking down 26 offensive boards. The Panthers outscored the Continentals 26-5 in second-chance points, but Hamilton was able to keep the contest close as it made 12 of its 23 shots from beyond the arc for 52.2 percent.