SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Double-digit scoring runs — one in each half — led Wabash to a 66-56 win at Wittenberg Wednesday evening. The win keeps the Little Giants in second place in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings with a 12-3 conference record and a 16-8 mark overall.
Wabash enters the final weekend of the regular season with a one-game lead over third-place Wooster (19-5, 11-4 NCAC). The Scots hold a crucial tiebreaker over Wabash after defeating first-place Denison (21-3, 13-2 NCAC) 75-72 in Granville, Ohio, Wednesday evening. The Little Giants can tie for the conference title with a Saturday win over Oberlin at home and a loss by Denison at Ohio Wesleyan. A Wabash win Saturday guarantees the Little Giants finish no worse than second in the regular-season standings.
Wabash trailed Wittenberg (8-16, 4-11 NCAC) trailed 14-7 eight minutes into the contest before trading buckets with the Tigers for a 16-9 score with 11:02 left in the half. Little Giant sophomore guard Keegan Manowitz started a 15-0 Wabash run with a three-point basket. Manowitz finished with a career-high 11 points and was part of 23 bench points for Wabash in the game.
Robert Sorensen followed Manowitz with a three-pointer to trim the lead to one point. A basket from Randy Kelley on the next Wabash possession put the Little Giants up 17-16. Senior Noah Hupmann scored a basket with 4:25 remaining in the half to put Wabash up 19-16. Rich Brooks followed with back-to-back baskets for four of his 16 points to push the Little Giants’ lead to seven at 23-16. Hupmann hit one of two free throws to finish the 15-0 run before the Tigers eventually snapped a ten-minute scoring drought with a basket to close to 27-21 contest at halftime.
Wittenberg drilled back-to-back three-pointers to open the second half to tie the score at 27-27, then took the lead on a basket from Eddie Brown to cap an 8-0 Tiger run for a 29-27 Wittenberg lead. The teams traded baskets and leads over the next three minutes, ending with a 31-31 tie with 15:46 left to play. The Tigers tied the game with a basket at 31-31, then scored the next eight points to take a 39-31 advantage. Vinny Buccilla ended the run with a basket for two of his team-best 17 points.
The Tigers regained the eight-point advantage until a Manowitz driving layup and a Brooks triple cut the advantage to three. Witt scored on its next possession, but another three from Brooks made it a two-point contest, 44-42. A Tiger free throw pushed the lead to three points, but Brooks answered with his third consecutive three-pointer and fourth of the game to tie the score 45-45. Wittenberg regained the lead on a basket from Cameron Harrison, but Manowitz responded with a three-pointer to give the Little Giants a 48-47 lead with 5:30 remaining.
Wittenberg regained the lead with a three-pointer of its own. Soerensen answered for the Little Giants with a three to put Wabash in front for the final time at 51-50. Two baskets by Buccilla — one that drew a foul and created a three-point play — and another triple from Manowitz put the game out of reach in the closing minutes.
Buccilla’s 17 points led three Wabash players in double-figure scoring. Brooks added 16 and Manowitz finished with his career-high 11. Wabash shot 45.8 percent from the field (22 of 48) and made 37.5 percent of its three-point shots (9 of 24). The Little Giants finished 13 of 20 from the free throw line, outscoring the Tigers at the charity stripe after Wittenberg made 4 of 7 tries. The Tigers shot 35.6 percent from the field (21 of 59) and made 10 of 24 three-pointers (41.7 percent).
Wabash held a four-board advantage in rebounding, thanks in part to a game-high 15 rebounds by Hupmann. The senior added six points and blocked three shots.
Saturday’s game against Oberlin begins at 2 p.m. at Chadwick Court. Wabash will honor seniors Buccilla and Hupmann before tipoff and pay tribute to retired swimming coach Gail Pebworth at halftime. Pebworth is a member of the 2025 induction class for the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America NCAA Division III Hall of Fame class.
