Box Score Pete Nicksic and the Wabash basketball team provided a scare Tuesday to seventh-ranked Illinois Wesleyan. The Titans held on down the stretch for a 68-57 victory.
 
"We stressed before the game there's no pressure on us and the burden of proof is on them," Nicksic said. "We're 0-3 and they're ranked number seven in the nation. So we had no reason to not get out there and play our butts off. That was our mantra before the game and I feel like we did a great job of that."
 
That attitude carried the Wabash (0-4) defense to its best performance of the season. Illinois Wesleyan (3-1) entered the contest scoring almost 90 points-per-game and shooting above 50 percent from three-point range. However, the Little Giants kept their opponent from cracking 70 for the first time all season as the Titans shot a mere 25 percent beyond the arc.
 
Wabash pestered Illinois Wesleyan with a 3-2 zone throughout the game.
 
"I tip my hat to our guys because teams have been scoring a lot of points on us, and we went out and played well against one of the top-scoring teams in the nation," Coach Antoine Carpenter said.
"We really had to put some into our zone defense, but we felt it was time to bring it out. We have a lot of new players and guys had learn how we rotate in that zone."
 
The Little Giants held an early 4-3 edge before an 11-0 Titan spurt guided Illinois Wesleyan to the halftime lead, 38-28.
Wabash mounted a 15-4 run in the first five minutes of the second half to take the lead, 43-42. Nicksic had a block, steal, layup, and two offensive rebounds in the stretch. He also found Gary Ulrich twice for three pointers.
 
"We were brining several different kinds of smoke," Nicksic said. "We were hitting shots which opened up the inside. Then we worked them on the inside to open up shots. When we play like that, we're a tough team to beat."
 
Nicksic finished with a double-double at 17 points and 11 rebounds. He added 2 blocks, steals, and assists, and committed no turnovers in 31 minutes of action. Ulrich added 9 points, shooting 3-of-6 from three-point range
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Up by a point with 14:29 left to play, the Little Giants could only briefly hold the lead. After Ulrich's second triple in the run provided the one-point advantage, the Little Giants were called for four frustrating fouls on the same defensive possession. All four fouls were called within a 12-second span, culminating in Illinois Wesleyan bonus free-throw attempts.
 
"There was some disparity of the foul count, but I think our guys did a great job of trying to create some foul opportunities," Carpenter said. "But the whistle just didn't blow. We still continued to attack the rims."
 
Illinois Wesleyan shot 27 free throws to Wabash's 12. Both Daniel Purvlicis and Kasey Oetting fouled out for Wabash.
 
The Titans slowly established control of the game after regaining the lead. Victor Davis made the most of the foul calls — he shot 12-of-12 from the free-throw line en route to a 24-point effort.
 
Nicksic made a layup with 4:56 left to draw the Little Giants within four, but they wouldn't come any closer. Still, the youthful Little Giants battled one of 2012's national semifinalists all the way to the end on its home court.
 
"The two good teams we played—Franklin and Illinois Wesleyan—we played them close," Nicksic said. "And the two less excellent teams we played (Hanover and Albion), we got beat soundly. We're a young team and we have to try and have a consistent effort for every single game. They (freshmen) don't see their own mortality of the season yet."
 
Ross Sponsler scored 12 points for Wabash while Kyle Aiton added 9. Andrew Ziemnik was second in scoring for Illinois Wesleyan with 11.
 
The Little Giants return to action Monday at Rose-Hulman for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.