Box Score The Little Giants defeated Kenyon 58-45 Saturday afternoon behind another stout defensive performance and superb free-throw shooting. Wabash toed the free-throw line 34 times and connected on 28 attempts while the defense held the Lords to 27 percent shooting.

View photos from the game here and here. Prior to the contest former Little Giants players returned for the annual Wabash Alumni Basketball Game. View photos from that game here.

“It was the best job all year at being aggressive and getting to the hole,” Coach Antoine Carpenter said. “Obviously, our guys were able to knock down their shots when they got to the line and that's most important.

“Defensively, we just wanted to compete. We ran the zone with man principals where everyone helps each other. I thought our guys played with great effort and intensity on the defensive side of the ball.”

Wabash's offense stalled in the second half and shot 4-of-23 from the field. However, the Little Giant players stayed aggressive and pressured Kenyon's defense. The Lords committed 25 fouls on the afternoon and Little Giant shooters made them pay, with Ross Sponsler leading the way with a perfect 12-of-12 effort from the charity stripe.

The Little Giants (8-15, 6-8 NCAC) avenged a defeat to Kenyon last month and forced the Lords into their lowest scoring output of the season. The Little Giants now sit alone in seventh place of the North Coast Athletic Conference standings. Wabash trails DePauw, Kenyon, and Denison by one game. Each team is tied for fourth place at 7-7. Hiram currently holds the eighth spot with a 5-9 record.

The Little Giants started slow and trailed 12-4 at the 12-minute mark of the first half. After a timeout, Carpenter switched defenses to a 2-3 zone, reminiscent of Wabash's win over the College of Wooster a week ago. The defensive change proved effective again and changed the tide of the game, sparking a 30-7 scoring differential in favor of the Little Giants for the remainder of the half. The spurt allowed Wabash to take at 34-19 lead at halftime.

“We did a good job keeping our hands over the basketball and a good job rebounding,” Carpenter said.

Wabash fought through a lethargic start to the second half. The half-time lead vanquished to three points due in part to six turnovers and poor shooting in the first 11 minutes.

“We have been doing a great job taking care of ball so I was very disappointed with the turnovers,” Carpenter said. “Kenyon pressured us and played very physical and we didn't handle that well at times. But our free-throw attempts were a result of their physicality a lot of time.”

The Little Giants shot 16-of-20 from the foul line in the second half and connected on 11 in a row at one point. The free throws steadily pushed Wabash's lead back up to double digits while the defense continued to shine.

Ikenna Nwadibia paced the Lords with 18 points and 12 rebounds. No other Kenyon players reached double figures in either category.

“We tried to make him (Nwadibia) shoot from outside,” Carpenter said. “He's a tough kid and one of the top players in the conference. But we wanted him to take shots he doesn't normally take.”

Sponsler led all scorers with 19 points, but he only had six in the second half. Pete Nicksic scored 9 and seized 11 rebounds. Team captain Kasey Oetting played in his second game since returning from a foot injury. He hauled in 5 boards and scored 8 points, including a powerful two-handed slam to put the exclamation point on the game.

“Kasey is just trying to catch his rhythm,” Carpenter said. “He definitely looked alright on that dunk. He brings back a lot of experience for us and that's great for end of season.”

With two regular season games remaining on the schedule there is still plenty to be decided. The log jam in the middle of the conference leaves a murky playoff picture with many possible outcomes. However, Carpenter is focused on what he and his team can control.

“The only scoreboard watching we're going to be doing is ours,” he said. “We're worried about ourselves and we need to be ready to compete. We have Ohio Wesleyan next and it's on the road so we need to be even more prepared and focus.”

Wabash travels to OWU Wednesday night for an 8 p.m. tip before playing host to Oberlin College next Saturday for Senior Day.