Middlebury jumped out to a 19-point halftime lead behind 61.1 percent shooting from the floor and Amherst never got within single digits, as the Panthers picked up a 106-91 win on Friday night in Pepin Gym. With the victory, 13th-ranked Middlebury (19-3, 7-2) has secured a home NESCAC Quarterfinal game next weekend. The Panthers return to action on Saturday when they host Trinity at 3:00 p.m., while eighth-ranked Amherst (16-6, 6-3) visits Hamilton at the same time.

Leading 17-11 at the 11:59 mark of the first half, Middlebury went on an 8-0 run behind a pair of threes from Matt St. Amour for a 25-11 lead 1:57 later. The Panthers led by nine (32-23) with 7:10 remaining before going on another 8-0 spurt, this time with threes from St. Amour and Matt Folger for a 40-23 advantage at the 5:30 mark. The Panthers closed the first half on a 17-7 run in the final 3:57, taking a 59-38 lead into the break. Middlebury not only shot 61.1 percent from the floor in the first half, they were 8-13 (.615) from behind the arc.

Amherst scored eight of the first 10 points in the second half, cutting the lead to 61-46 with 17:44 on the clock. The lead was slashed to 12 (68-56) on a three pointer from Reid Berman at the 14:22 mark, but Middlebury answered with a three from St. Amour and later another trey from Bryan Jones to go on top 76-58 with 12:54 remaining.

Amherst continued with several quick spurts, but the Panthers answered each time, often with clutch shots from St. Amour as the lead was never cut to less than 11. Middlebury put the game away for good with 2:54 on the scoreboard when St. Amour drained a long three to put his team up 101-85.

St. Amour finished with a game-high 31 points on 9-18 shooting from the floor and 6-12 from behind the arc. His six three-point field goals tied a career high, as he added four assists in the win. With his 31 points, he moved into sixth place all-time at Middlebury with 1,487 points, surpassing Jason Prenevost '15, who netted 1,457.

Jake Brown scored 23 points and dished out six assists for the Panthers, while Jack Daly finished with 14 points, a game-high 12 boards and seven assists. Nick Tarantino went 6-9 from the floor, netting a dozen points and grabbing four boards, while Jones added 10 points.

Jayde Dawson led Amherst with 24 points, surpassing the 1,000 career-point mark in the game. Johnny McCarthy scored 19 on 7-10 shooting, while David George netted 13 points and pulled down seven rebounds on 5-6 shooting. Michael Riopel earned 10 points, while Berman finished with nine points and five assists.

The victory was the sixth-straight for the Panthers, who have now scored 100 or more points in four of their last five home games.