Box Score
GRANVILLE, Ohio — Wabash overcame a 17-point first half deficit to claim a 71-65 victory at Denison Saturday afternoon. The Little Giants impoved to 6-0 overall and 1-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference with the win.

Aaron Zinnerman led Wabash with 19 points, but it was the 17-point effort by freshman reserved Austin Hawn that propelled Wabash to victory. Hawn was perfect from the field, hitting all five shot attempts including a 4-for-4 effort from beyond the three-point arc.

The Little Giants got off to a slow start for the third straight season in Granville, falling behind 24-7. Wabash would battle back to earn the victory, unlike the prior two season when the Little Giants came away with road losses.

"We certainly didn't start the way we would have liked," Head Coach Antoine Carpenter said. "We missed some shots and had some turnovers which didn't help. Nonetheless, our defense kept us in the game because our deficit could have been worse.
 
"At halftime, although we were down, I was proud of our seniors for staying positive and holding each other accountable - they knew the game was not over and they vowed to fight back by executing offensively and defensively."

Wabash did just that, using a 14-0 run starting at the 16-minute mark to trigger the comeback. Zinnerman, Hawn, and Kasey Oetting drilled consecutive three-pointers, with Zinnerman adding two free throws during the stretch that saw the lead change from a 38-26 Denison lead to a 40-38 edge in favor of Wabash. The Little Giants stretched their lead to 10 points at the eight-minute mark before the Big Red made a run of their own. Jim Leffew and Brett Tiberi triggered their rally with a pair of treys before Mike Garabian's layup gave Denison a one-point advantage.

The teams were tied at 61-61 with two minutes left to play when senior Derek Bailey nailed a three-pointer to put Wabash up for good. Nick Curosh added a final basket and Bailey, Brian Shelbourne, and Hawn combined to hit five of their final six free throw attempts to earn the victory.

Bailey finished with 12 points and Shelbourne added 11 to put four Wabash players in double-figure scoring. The Little Giants shot 49 percent from the field (23-of-47) and 46 percent from three-point range (10-of-22).

"Everyone played much better in the second half but I was extremely excited about the play from Austin Hawn," Carpenter said. "He did what he does best - knock down shots and applied steady defense.
 
"Overall, this was a great conference win and it was great to see how our team dealt with adversity. Great teams know how to win and our goal is to be a great basketball team. I believe we are headed in the right direction."