Box Score The Little Giants nearly erased an 18-point lead by Trine in the second half, but the Thunder held on down the stretch for a 77-69 victory.
A 16-3 run by Wabash over eight minutes in the final period trimmed the lead to two points, but Trine (4-2) outscored the Little Giants 13-5 in the final five minutes.
"We have to learn that we can't play in stretches and expect to win," Wabash head coach Antoine Carpenter said. "They had a nice run to open the second half and we just weren't competing at the proper level."
After leading 44-31 at halftime, Ian Jackson scored the first five points of the second half for Trine to push the lead to 18 points. Five minutes into the second half, Wabash began to mount its comeback.
Pete Nicksic, who was held scoreless in the first half, started to catch fire, scoring three straight points.
Ross Sponsler added a leaner from the left side to cut the lead to 10 points before a jumper by
Daniel Purvlicis trimmed the advantage to single digits with 8:52 left to play. Sponsler, Purvlicis, and
Kasey Oetting kept up the scoring. Oetting's two free throws at 6:54 made it 63-59 in favor of Trine. After a free throw by the Thunder, Nicksic scored inside and was fouled. He hit the free throw for a 64-62 contest with 4:47 remaining.
Jackson took over once again, scoring the next four points on the way to a 24-point night, and the Little Giants would get no closer.
Four Wabash players scored in double figures, but Trine answered with four double-figure scorers, as well. Sponsler and
Houston Hodges each finished with 11 points. Hodges drilled 3 first-half three-point shots and added four assists, three rebounds, and two steals. Nicksic and Oetting each added 10 points. Purvlicis tallied eight points and eight rebounds.
Andy Walsh tossed in eight points, as well.
"We are a confident ball club on offense," Carpenter said. "We know that anyone on the floor can score. When we move the ball well and find open shots we become a tough matchup defensively for any team we play."
Scott Rogers scored 17 points in addition to the 24 from Jackson for Trine. Jared Holmquist scored 13, and Nate Tatu tossed in 12.
Wabash (2-4) returns to North Coast Athletic Conference portion of its schedule this Saturday with a road contest at the College of Wooster.
