Wabash survived a 26-turnover game that erased a 12-point halftime lead before capturing an 89-78 double overtime home win over Hiram College Saturday.
 
The Little Giants needed a last-second basket by Kyle Aiton to force the first extra session and a late dunk by Daniel Purvlicis in the closing seconds of the first overtime before outscoring the Terriers 15-4 in the second OT.
 
Wabash trailed 65-63 after Hiram's connected on a three-point shot by Jeremiah Thomas with the game clock winding down in regulation. The Little Giants took a timeout with 3.1 seconds showing on the clock after the Thomas triple before inbounding to Aiton. The sophomore raced the length of the floor, driving to the right side for the game-tying layup just before the buzzer sounded.
 
Hiram lead by two points on four different occasions in the first overtime --- the last coming off a Thomas layup with 33 seconds left. Wabash committed one of its 26 turnovers on the ensuing play, but a missed layup by the Terriers was rebounded by Kasey Oetting. He quickly found Purvlicis streaking into the front court and fired a pass to the junior, who finished the play with a resounding dunk to tie the contest and force a second overtime.
 
Wabash (7-3, 3-1 NCAC) scored the first two baskets of the final OT with shots from Purvlicis and Oetting. The backbreaker came midway through the final period when Aiton drilled a three off an inside-out rotation from Oetting and Zack Patton. Another basket by Purvlicis stretched the Wabash advantage to nine points.
 
"We committed 26 turnovers, but we had 21 assists, we doubled them in offensive rebounds, we were better at the free throw line today," Wabash head coach Kyle Brumett said. "Those types of things counterbalance the turnovers.
 
"You shouldn't have a chance to win the game when you turn the ball over that many times. But we did enough other good things to put ourselves in position to win. We just made some plays. Kyle's basket at the end of regulation, the Daniel (Purvlicis) dunk, Kasey handling of the ball down the stretch. I'm frustrated with some things but the bottom line is our guys made a bunch of plays and I've got to give them credit for that too."
 
Wabash shot 32-of-60 from the field for 53.3 percent while grabbing 48 rebounds, including 14 on the offensive end of the floor. Purvlicis led Wabash with 27 points on 12-of-13 shooting. The junior has connected on 72.5 percent of his shot attempts through the first ten games of the season. Aiton added 21 points while Oetting finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Daniel Scofield added nine boards, including six offensive rebounds, for the Little Giants. Austin Burton finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, and a team-best six assists in 43 minutes of playing time.
 
"We had a bunch of chances to fold, but that back wall (at Chadwick Court) says 'Wabash Always Fights' and our guys fought," Brumett said. "It was some different guys helping us earn the win today. I thought Zack Patton was unbelievable doing some of the dirty work that doesn't show up the stats. Overall it's a good win --- never take winning for granted."
 
JJ Woodson led Hiram (7-4, 1-3 NCAC) in scoring with 20 points. Thomas finished with 16, while Kyle Deckerd tallied 11 points.
 
Wabash will have less than 24 hours to rest after a 50-minute game versus Hiram. The Little Giants play Allegheny College Sunday at 3 p.m. at home. The Gators lost 85-71 at DePauw Saturday afternoon. Evan Zabriski led Allegheny in scoring with 15 points.
 
"Allegheny will play zone much like Hiram did today," Brumett said. "Allegheny beat Hiram earlier this year. They're pretty good. They played a tough early schedule. We'll have our hands full. We'll need some guys off the bench to step up and give us good minutes to spell the guys who had to play so much today."