Box Score Wabash could not corral a hot-shooting Franklin basketball team Wednesday night in a 97-82 road loss. The Grizzlies shot 30-of-54 from the field and 11-of-19 from three-point range to record the win.
A trio of Little Giant freshman tried to keep the Little Giants in the ball game.
Daniel Purvlicis led the way early, scoring 13 of his 15 total points in the first period.
Ross Sponsler caught fire in the second half, finishing with a career-high 21 with all but four points coming in the second half. Fellow rookie Marcus Kamrath came off the bench to score 10 points.
Bailey Howard and Gunner Erwin provided the offensive fireworks for Franklin (6-4). Howard scored a career-best 33 points, hitting 10-of-14 shots from the field including all four of his three-point attempts. Erwin connected on 4-of-5 triples and 6-of-13 shots overall to finish with 21.
Wabash took a 4-0 lead before the Grizzlies answered with a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to take the lead in the contest they would never relinquish. After stretching the advantage to as many as 10 points in the first half, the Little Giants fought back to within a point with 2:13 remaining in the period. Franklin hit two more three pointers push the lead back to seven before Purvlicis raced out ahead of the pack and threw down a dunk with 15 seconds remaining in the half. The Wabash freshman was issued a technical foul for hanging on the rim, followed by another technical on a member of the bench for stepping onto the court. The Grizzlies hit all four free throws for a 46-37 halftime edge.
Early turnovers in the second half by Wabash helped the Grizzlies boost the advantage to double figures quickly. The Little Giants would get no closer than eight points in the final period before settling for the 15-point loss. Franklin scored a total of 30 points off of 19 Wabash turnovers.
Wabash shot well on the offense end of the floor, connecting on 30-of-56 attempts with a 9-for-16 effort from beyond the arc.
The loss ended a seven-game winning streak by the Little Giants against Franklin. The last time the Grizzlies claimed a victory was an 80-68 contest in 2006 at Franklin.
Wabash (3-6) returns to action after the Christmas break with a trip to Elmhurst College for the Bluejays' tournament. The Little Giants face Calvin College on Friday, December 28 in an 8 p.m. (CST) tipoff.
