Wabash saw Wittenberg hit two quick three-pointers and take a 6-2 lead Wednesday at Chadwick Court.
That was the last good thing, and last good news for the Tigers as the Little Giants steamrolled the visitors 72-46.
The win completes the first half of the conference season for Wabash, and they sit in second place with a 7-1 record, trailing Denison at 8-0.
The win moves them to 11-6 overall and the Little Giants have now won 10 of their last 12 games. Wittenberg falls to 7-10 overall and 3-5 in the NCAC.
“We were pretty good tonight,” Wabash coach Kyle Brumett said. “We had some guys step up. Wittenberg doesn’t have the best record this year, but they have a lot of wins here over the years, and it was important to take care of business tonight”
The first step-up guy was freshman Robert Sorensen.
After missing the last four games with an injury, the Guerin Catholic grad got his first start of his Wabash career due to two regular starters being out with illness.
Hitting five field goals, four from long range, the guard led the Little Giants with 14 points, one of four players in double figures.
“He hadn’t played since early January, and he gets his first start,” Brumett said. “He was really in a zone. He also had a big defensive assignment. He and all the guys just got us off to such a good start. A lot of guys were really prepared and had a great approach to tonight.”
Vinny Buccilla had a dozen, Nate Matelic 11 off the bench, and Gavin Schippert 10 as Wabash used a 10-0 and then an 8-3 run to run away from the Tigers and take a 36-18 halftime lead.
Schippert was also the leading rebounder with nine, one from his second double-double of the season.
The other fireworks from the first half were supplied by Wittenberg coach Darren Hertz, who picked up a technical foul with 9:24 on the clock and then was ejected with his second “T” two minutes later.
He didn’t miss much, as his team struggled to keep Wabash out of the lane (28 paint points) and had the Little Giants hit 10 three-pointers.
They shot 38 percent from the field, improved greatly by some late buckets, while Wabash was 47 percent from the field.
Turnovers were also a big part of the win for the Little Giants, as they had only one in the first half and five for the game. They came into the game third in the nation for fewest turnovers (9.2), and forced 13. They had a 17-2 advantage in points off those miscues.
“We forced them to take the shots we wanted them to take by the guys we want to have shooting,” Brumett said of the defense, noting that the three double-figure scorers who played for Wittenberg were held to 16 total points, 19 under their average.
“Our goal is to win the league,” Brumett said. “The early games in the season were against good teams and that helped set us up for the conference, Those games made us better. I like this team, I like coaching them, I like their mentality and their approach. All our goals are still in front of us.”
The Little Giants travel to Hiram on Saturday and will be at home for three of the next four, starting with a game against DePauw next Wednesday The home game after that is Feb. 5 against league-leading Denison.