Box Score Six days ago, Wabash almost overcame an early 11-0 deficit at DePauw in a 75-74 defeat. In Tuesday night's first-round matchup of the North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, the Little Giants fell behind 13-0 at their rivals but were unable to mount a final comeback in a 73-59 defeat.
 
"That's been our modus operandi the entire season," center Pete Nicksic said. "We always start out with a 12- or 13-point deficit. It does make us a second-half team. I feel like we play 30 minutes a game of competitive basketball."
 
View photos from the game here.

Trailing 19-9, Wabash responded with a 15-6 run which including a span of five minutes in which the Little Giants held DePauw scoreless. Wabash eventually cut the lead to 19-15 on a Houston Hodges layup. The sophomore guard scored a season-high 18 points on the night.
 
"I think it was him (Houston) being aggressive," Coach Antoine Carpenter said about his point guard. "The previous week he was able to see the shot go down in practice. It helps out when you start seeing it go down. He was being aggressive and getting to the rim. That's always good to get some easy buckets to get you going offensively."
 
Despite Hodges' efforts, the Tigers steadily gained separation and entered the locker room up 38-28.
 
"DePauw did a good job hitting some shots and we were able to get some good shots but didn't make any buckets," Carpenter said. "Defensively, we had to get some stops and we didn't. We continued to battle and it just wasn't our night."
 
DePauw kept Wabash at arm's length throughout the second half — the Little Giants trailed by double digits for the final 20 minutes.
 
Six days ago, Adam Botts led the Tigers to victory with 29 points. Tuesday night, Botts failed to score, but DePauw found success in distributing the buckets.
 
"That's what makes DePauw a special basketball team because it does have so many guys that can score," Carpenter said. "It's hard to go out there and stop just one person. You have to pick your poison. Tonight, (Michael) Wilkison and (Tommy) Fernitz both had great games."
 
Wilkison paced DePauw with 20 points, making all eight free-throw attempts. Fernitz scored 19, despite playing only seven minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. Wing man Bob Dillon added 14.
 
"They went small [when Fernitz subbed out] which gave us a different look and ending up working out for them," Nicksic said. "Our goal is to get Fernitz in foul trouble. He's a shot blocker and doesn't wall up on defense. We tried to use a lot of head fakes and get him in the air."
 
 
Despite the schedule oddity in both teams playing each other in six days, Carpenter didn't think it favored one team or the other.
 
"I think it's beneficial for both teams because in your preparation for the opponent you have a better sense what it likes to do," he said. "Of course you're going to make your adjustments, but you still have to go out there and compete."
 
DePauw (19-7) will play Wittenberg Friday in the semifinal round. The Little Giants (8-17) were left to reflect on their season.
 
 "I just let the team know I appreciate the hard work it gave us all season," Carpenter said. "It embodied Wabash and fought throughout the whole season. I appreciate the guys' work ethic in practice and always continuing to fight. That's what I'll remember about this team."