Wabash senior Daniel Purvlicis enjoyed two celebrations Friday. His layup with 12.1 provided the game-winning basket in the Little Giants' 65-63 win over Rose-Hulman for the first victory in four seasons for the Little Giants over their in-state rivals.
 
The basket scored two Purvlicis' team-best 24 points, sending him over 1,000 points for his career --- the 26^th Wabash player to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
 
"This is the first time the senior class got a win against Rose-Hulman, so that's really huge," Purvlicis said. "We knew that was something we wanted to get. Coming into their place, they play really well at home and have a lot of seniors, as well. It was important for us to come out and play loose.
 
"I knew I was close to 1,000 points. I wasn't sure when or which game it would happen. It's really exciting, but it's not really something you think about coming into the season. Now that I've reached it, I think about all the other people who have gotten there before me. It's both exciting and humbling to be a part of that group."
 
Purvlicis and freshman Johnny Jager combined for 43 of the Little Giants' 65 points. But it was a defensive stand in the final 12 seconds that secured the win.
 
After Jager found Purvlicis cutting to the basket and hit him with a pass for eventual game winner, Rose (2-2) had one final opportunity to tie or win. Dillon Reynolds set up the offense for a final attempt, but had to scramble to recover after Austin Burton tipped the ball back toward midcourt in the closing seconds. Reynolds tracked down the loose ball, but was forced to launch a last-second desperation effort around Burton's defense that slammed off the rim and fell away to give Wabash the victory.
 
The Little Giants led by as many as 11 points late in the first half after cutting into a seven-point advantage by the Fightin' Engineers. Rose rallied behind Tyler Duffy, who finished with a game-high 25 points. The senior tallied 20 points in the second half on 7-of-7 shooting, slowly erasing the Little Giants' nine-point halftime lead before putting the Engineers up four in the closing minutes of the game.
 
Twenty-four Wabash turnovers led to 24 points for Rose, which also helped keep the game closing down the stretch.
 
"I can't remember the last time we played with a double-digit lead," Wabash head coach Kyle Brumett said. "It's like anything else in basketball, we have to learn how to play with that kind of lead. Our turnovers allowed them to stay close when we had the lead. Our defense is what allowed us to win this game."
 
Wabash held the Fightin' Engineers to 24-of-64 shooting (37.5 percent) while the Little Giants hit 27-of-51 attempts for 52.9 percent. Wabash outscored Rose by ten in the paint, 38-28. The Little Giants outrebounds the home team 43-29. Purvlicis grabbed 13 boards for his second double-double of the season.
 
The Little Giants (3-1) return to action after the Thanksgiving break with a pair of home games, starting with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff Monday against Boyce College before opening North Coast Athletic Conference play at home Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. versus Wittenberg University.