Big second half carries Middlebury to 63-54 victory over McDaniel in first game of Land of Magic Classic
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Tim Edwards had all 10 of his points in the second half to lead Middlebury to a 63-54 win over McDaniel on the opening day of the Land of Magic Classic hosted by Embry-Riddle in non-conference men’s basketball action on Friday.
T.J. Odunlami (Columbia, Md./Athlolton) led the Green Terror (6-2) with a career-high 13 points while Brett Foelber (Sykesville, Md./Cardinal Gibbons) also reached double figures with 12 points.
Ben Rudin netted 12 points to lead the Panthers (8-1), who used a 28-7 run during the second half to turn a 41-33 deficit into their largest lead of the game at 61-48.
With his team trailing by eight with 13:14 to play, Andrew Harris canned one of eight Middlebury 3-pointers to spark the nearly 12-minute burst.
An Edwards trey – his first points of the game – trimmed the deficit to two 50 seconds later.
After Chad Arrington (Randallstown, Md./Randallstown) snapped a 4-minute, 20-second scoring drought for McDaniel with his only two points of the second half.
A second Edwards triple and Aaron Smith rebound-and-basket gave the Panthers their first lead since a 17-14 advantage with 9:19 to play in the opening stanza.
Harris and Kyle Dudley hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a 50-43 game before a single Odunlami free throw snapped another 3-minute scoring drought for the Green Terror.
After a Foelber basket trimmed the deficit to 53-48 with 4:28 to play, Middlebury reeled off the next nine points to put the game out of reach with 1:35 to play.
With four ties and four lead changes in the first nearly 11 minutes, neither team led by more than three points before a 10-0 burst for McDaniel over a 4-minute, 1-second span gave the Green Terror a 24-17 advantage with 4:59 showing in the first half.
With his team facing a 26-19 hole with 3:12 remaining in the first half, Dudley hit a jumper to key a 7-0 burst to the locker room and a 26-all deadlock at intermission.
Clinging to a 34-33 edge early in the second half, Kevin Henry (Potomac, Md./Bullis School) hit a jumper to help the Green Terror push the lead to its largest at 41-33.
Arrington led McDaniel on the glass with 11 rebounds while Chris Prior (Westminster, Md./Westminster) grabbed 10. Arrington also nabbed four steals to go with six points. Foelber had the Green Terror’s only two assists.
Smith grabbed 12 rebounds for Middlebury, who also got 10 points off the bench from Dudley.
McDaniel returns to action against Hobart in the second day of the Land of Magic Classic on Saturday. Game time is 6 p.m.
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