Wabash led from start to finish in a Wednesday shootout against Ohio Wesleyan at Chadwick Court. The Little Giants won the key North Coast Athletic Conference contest 84-74 to remain in second place in the league standings.
Wabash (14-8, 10-3 NCAC) entered the game with a half-game lead over idle Wooster (17-5, 9-4 NCAC) and a full game over Ohio Wesleyan (13-9, 8-5 NCAC). The win gives the Little Giants a full-game lead over the Scots with three games remaining in the regular season.
Wabash and Ohio Wesleyan combined for 69 three-point shots, but the Little Giants found the most success from long range. Wabash shot 13-of-29 from beyond the arc for 44.8 percent after struggling the past two games from long range. Ohio Wesleyan made 14 of 40 three-point tries for a 35% effort.
The Little Giants raced out to an early seven-point lead that expanded to 15 with 5:32 remaining in the first half. Ohio Wesleyan cut the advantage to eight points at the end of the half, with Wabash holding a 44-36 lead at the break.
The Little Giants came out cold to start the second half with the Battling Bishops taking advantage, cutting the lead to one point at 50-49 five minutes into the final period. Senior center Noah Hupmann pushed the lead back to three points with a hook shot to score two of his career-high 16 points. He made 8 of 9 shots from the field, grabbed nine rebounds, and recorded three blocked shots. Vinny Buccilla added one of his five three-point baskets to extend the advantage to six points. Robert Sorensen and Keegan Manowitz followed with threes to give Wabash a 64-52 edge with 11:23 left on the clock.
Ohio Wesleyan cut the lead to six points in the game’s final minute, but free throws from Nate Matelic and Josh Whack closed the contest with a 10-point Wabash victory.
Buccilla led Wabash in scoring with 19 points. Rich Brooks added 14 points. Matelic scored 10 points for the Little Giants. Whack handed out a career-high eight assists to go with seven points.
Henry Hinklie led Ohio Wesleyan with 24 points. Tony Carter tossed in 14 points for the Battling Bishops.
Wabash finished 33-of-68 from the field for 48.5% shooting. OWU made 29-of-66 shots from the field for 43.9%. The Little Giants outrebound Ohio Wesleyan 38-35 but turned 10 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points. The Bishops scored only four points off 10 offensive boards.
Wabash travels to Kenyon College on Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest against the Owls.
