Two second-half bursts keyed a Wabash basketball 87-68 victory Tuesday against North Central University (MN).
 
Kyle Aiton led all scorers with 23 points as five Little Giants scored in double figures.

"We were much more aggressive going at the basket," Coach Kyle Brumett said. "We've had a couple games where we've seen a lot of zone, and too much of our zone offense has just been to pass it around the perimeter."

Aiton ignited the aggressive play.

"Coach kept reiterating to drive it and punch the gaps," Aiton said. "Once we got in there, their zone completely died. We did that some in the first half, but it was more prevalent in the second."

The Little Giants opened the second half on a 13-2 run which pushed their 30-29 halftime lead to 12. The visiting Rams had cut the difference to six with 6:28 remaining, but Wabash responded with a 14-2 run over the next three minutes to seal the victory.

"It became a little bit of a track meet in the second half," Brumett said. "They got to the foul line quite a bit which helped them put up a bigger number in the second half. But we have some guys that can put the ball in the hole, and they're all still figuring out their role."

A handful of Little Giants stepped up in scoring roles. After Aiton, Kasey Oetting had 15, Daniel Purvlicis 13, Daniel Scofield 12, and Austin Burton 10. Scofield had a double-double as he hauled in 13 rebounds.

"I think all those guys in double figures tonight are capable of being double-figures scorers," Brumett said. "It probably won't be five guys every game, but I think it will be three or four, and some different guys each night."

The offense hit its stride after making some adjustments to North Central's zone.

"Kasey Oetting did a great job of catching the ball in the high post," Brumett said. "If they didn't play him, he shot it in. If they did play him, he drove it into the guts."

On the other end of the floor, the Rams posed two challenging scoring threats. Wingman Luke Chafin and guard Travis Voigt each entered the contest averaging double figures. Chafin was the focal point.

"Chafin was a real focus of ours," Brumett said. "One of the things we build our defense around is the philosophy of trying to get the best player to take more shots than points he scores. We did a pretty good job."

Mission accomplished, Coach. Chafin scored 13 on 5-of-17 shooting.

While the defense contained Chafin, Voigt had a big night with 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three.

"We knew Voigt was good even though he's a freshman," Brumett said. "Our ball-screen defense was not very good and he really made us pay off the ball screens. We just didn't stay in our help defense long enough when he came off the screen."

Wabash excelled in many other aspects, especially rebounding. The Little Giants nearly doubled the Rams' rebounding total 43-22, including a 25-5 advantage in the second half.

"That has to be who we are," Brumett said. "When I took this job and studied it, you naturally see the size. A lot of times on our level, you don't see that kind of size."

The game was Wabash's home opener for the 2014-2015 season, and Brumett's first inside Chadwick Court. Although most students are home for Thanksgiving, the student section was nearly filled by the football team.

"The first thing I told the guys in the locker room after the game was 'Thank you,'" Brumett said. "We had a great turnout tonight. Our students — especially our football team — rolled in and supported us."

The Little Giants will enjoy the home-court advantage in their next game as well. They will play host to Rose-Hulman at 3 p.m. Sunday.