Wabash College outscored visiting Allegheny 12-2 in the last 3:25 of Friday’s game to pick up a hard fought North Coast Athletic Conference victory by a score of 83-71. Little Giant Jack Davidson scored a game-high 30 points including six during the closing run, and moved past the 1,5000-point barrier as a Little Giant.
Davidson said the Little Giants have been focusing on closing out games since the conference schedule started, and he was pleased his team made the plays to put the game away especially after losing to the Gators 76-70 on January 4.
“This year it has been a big emphasis for us to close out the game after we folded late a couple of times early in the season,” Davidson said. “Tonight we locked down on defense and that is where it starts. We were able to get out in transition and get some baskets and get fouled.”
Wabash Coach Kyle Brumett said the key to winning came down to two things.
“We did not turn it over and we made our free throws which has been a challenge at times for this team”, Brumett said. “Every team has to figure out how to close and tonight we got it done.”
The game was tied at halftime 36-36. The Little Giants jumped out early to a 14-7 start but the Gators responded to take a 20-18 lead with 8:50 left in the first half. Neither team led by more than three points the rest of the half. The Gators connected on 7-of-13 first half 3-point attempts to stay in the game.
The game was close the entire way. There were 16 lead changes and 15 times the score was tied. Wabash (13-7, 9-4) actually had a total time in-the-lead advantage by a mere 31 seconds for the entire game.
Allegheny (11-9, 5-8) and Little Giants battled even in the second half. The Gator’s largest lead was five points at 54-49 with 13:41 left in the contest. However, senior a Harry Halstrom basket in the paint plus two charity tosses got the home team back to within 54-53.
Wabash never trailed the last 6:44 of the game.
Wabash won the rebound battle 41-33 with Hallstrom hauling in 16 caroms including six offensive rebounds. The senior finished with a double-double as he scored 18 points.
Sophomore Tyler Watson finished the game with 12 and junior Kellen Schreiber tallied 11 giving Wabash four players in double figures.
Allegheny also had four double-digit scorers. Jordan Rawls led the Gators with 19 followed by Nijon Kirkman’s 17. Brian Roberts and Brock Brumfield’s scored 11 and 10 respectively.
The win was Wabash’s fourth in a row and puts them in a tie with Wooster for second place in the NCAC.
Brummet likes how his team is playing right now and believes he know why.
“We are playing our best ball of the season right now,” Brummet said. “It also is the healthiest we have been all season which makes a big difference. We cannot let up on the gas and we have to be ready to play well again tomorrow afternoon.”
Wabash will pay at home at 2 p.m. today when NCAC foe Hiram visits Chadwick Court. Allegheny will play at DePauw at the same time.
Wabash 83, Allegheny 71
Allegheny (11-9, 5-8): Kirkman 6 3-4 17, Greynolds 1-8, 2-2 4, Rawls 8-12 0-2 19, Urso 1-8 0-0 3, Holmes 2-10 2-2 7, Roberts 3-11 2- 11, Brumfield 4-8 1-1 10, Childs 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-68 10-15 71.
Wabash (13-7, 9-4): Schreiber 5-8 3-3 13, Hallstrom 7-8 4-8 18, Davidson 9-20 11-13 30, Garland 2-4 0-1 4, Watson 5-6 2-2 12, Rotterman 0-1 1-2 1, Hensley 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 1-6 0-0 3, Eberhard 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 30-57 21-29 83.
3-point shooting: Allegheny 11-37 (Kirkman 2-5, Greynolds 0-5, Rawls 3-5, Urso 1-7, Holmes 1-5, Roberts 3-7, Brumfield 1-3). Wabash 2-10 (Schreiber 0-1, Davidson 1-5, Garland 0-1, Watson 0-1, Hensley 0-1, Jones 1-1).
Rebounds: Allegheny 33, Wabash 41
Fouls: Allegheny 22, Wabash 14
Turnovers: Allegheny 8, Wabash 8
