Wabash College played one of their most complete games of the season on Saturday in a 81-61 win over North Coast Athletic Association rival Oberlin. The Little Giants defense and offense were hitting on all cylinders.
Leading 40-33 at the half, Wabash broke open the game early in the second half behind the hot shooting of former Tri-West standout Tyler Watson. Watson, a sophomore, connected on three straight treys to make the score 51-36 with 16:10 left in the game.
Watson, who did not score in the first half, finished with 14 points.
Wabash Coach Kyle Brumett said he sees Watson growing as a player on a team still searching to replace the senior leadership from last year’s team.
“I think Tyler is trying really hard to take on a leadership role as a young player,” Brumett said. “Our players have expanded their perspective on what it means to be a good team and good contributor.”
Watson said the fact teammate Jack Davidson scored 20 first-half points and Harry Hallstrom was effective in the post was the reason for his second half success.
“In the second half I knew I would get some open looks because Jack (Davidson) and Harry (Hallstrom) were hot in the first half and (Oberlin) would change their game plan a little bit”, Watson said. “Our team is so deep you have to be an opportunist at all times. We have so many scorers on this team we don’t want to force it and we have to have patience. I got into this little zone and felt every single shot was going in.”
Wabash’s defense was impressive holding the Yeoman to just 34 percent (19-56) in the game. Leading Oberlin scorer Christian Fioretti only scored five points which is 11 points under his average.
Davidson led the Little Giants in scoring with 25 points and Colton Garland added 13. Wabash shot an 50 percent (20-25) from the field.
Wabash, which was playing in its first home game since Dec. 4, will play at NCAC leader Wittenberg on Wednesday. The Little Giants will return to Chadwick Court on Saturday to play Kenyon.
Wabash 81, Oberlin 61
Oberlin 33 28 – 61
Wabash 40 41 – 81
Oberlin: (8-5, 2-4 NCAC) Finestone 3-6 1-2 8, Kunney 2-5 0-1 4, Tiedemann 1-2 3-5 5, Fioretti 2-7 0-0 5, Friedkin 3-13 6-8 14, Moser 2-6 1-2 7, Campbell 3-8 4-4 10, Armstrong 1-4 0-0 2, Kuhn 0-2 0-0 0, Suppa 0-1 0-0 0, Dibaei 1-1 0-0 3, Otley 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 19-56 15-22 61.
Wabash: (8-5, 4-2) Hallstrom 2-4 5-6 9, Rotterman 1-3 0-0 3, Davidson 7-11 10-14 25, Watson 5-11 4-6 14, Manges 0-2 0-0 0, Hensley 2-4 0-0 5, Schreiber 2-3 1-3 5, Garland 3-6 4-4 13, Eberhand 1-2 0-1 2, Hegwood 1-1 1-2 3, Chadd 1-1 0-0 2, Bever 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Fleming 0-1 0-0 0, Edwards 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-50 21-30 81.
3-point Shooting: Oberlin 8-26 (Finestone 1-4, Kunney 0-1, Fioretti 1-3, Friedkin 2-7, Moser 2-6, Kuhn 0-2, Suppa 0-1, Dibaei 1-1, Otely 1-1) Wabash 10-22 (Rotterman 1-2, Davidson 1-3, Watson 4-6, Manges 0-2, Hensley 1-3, Garland 3-5, Fleming 0-1)
Rebounds: Oberlin 31, Wabash 38
Turnovers: Oberlin 9, Wabash 7
Fouls: Oberlin 18, Wabash 23
