Middlebury, Vt. - The Middlebury College Panthers utilized a 21-5 run over a span of 5:27 in the latter stages of the first half on its way to a 97-80 win over the visiting Trinity College Bantams this afternoon in Pepin Gym.  Trinity finishes the regular season at 15-9 overall and 6-4 in the NESCAC, while the No. 13-ranked Panthers improve to 20-3 overall and close the league slate tied with Tufts at the top of the NESCAC standings at 8-2.  Trinity finishes tied with Wesleyan for fourth in the conference, but will play a NESCAC Quarterfinal game on the road against the Cardinals next Saturday due to a loss to them in their only meeting in January. 

The opening 12 minutes of play saw neither team maintain greater than a seven-point advantage with three ties and three lead changes. A lay-up by Trinity's Langdon Neal (Chicago, Ill.) cut the Panther lead to four at 25-21 with 7:53 left in the first half, but the Panthers took control of the game from there with the deciding 21-5 run. Matt St. Amour produced eight points during the spurt, while Bryan Jones had five. Jones concluded the run and gave the hosts a 20-point advantage (46-26) on a three-point field goal with 2:26 remaining in the stanza.  The Bantams responded with a 10-2 spurt of their own, cutting the Panther edge to 12 (48-36) on a free throw by junior Eric Gendron (Merrimack, N.H.) with 14 seconds left. Middlebury closed the half with a lay-up by Eric McCord on a putback for a 14-point lead headed into the break.

Out of the intermission, a three from Jones on the first possession gave the Panthers a 17-point advantage. The Bantams chipped away at the deficit, cutting it to nine (62-53) on a layup from Gendron with 14:58 showing on the clock.  Middlebury answered with a 17-5 run over the ensuing seven minutes, pulling ahead 79-58 on a three from Jack Daly with 8:01 left, and led by as many as 22 en route to the victory.

Sophomore Jeremy Arthur (Westbury, N.Y.( led Trinity with 19 points, including four threes. Senior co-captain center Ed Ogundeko (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored 14 on 6-10 shooting and pulled down a team-best nine rebounds, while Gendron added 11 points. Rookie Kyle Padmore (MIlton, Mass.) chipped in with eight points off the bench.  St. Amour finished with a game-high 28 points on 11-16 shooting from the floor and 4-5 from behind the arc.