If history holds true, turnovers and points-off turnovers will likely decide Wabash's North Coast Athletic Conference tournament semifnal game against The College of Wooster Friday night. The statistics' crucial importance were evident in Little Giants' two regular-season matchups against the Scots.

Wabash committed 19 giveaways which led to 17 points in an early 29-point victory for Wooster. In the January 31 rematch in Chadwick Court, each team committed 10 turnovers but the Little Giants held a 19-6 points-off-turnovers advantage in a 68-65 victory.

"If you can limit those turnovers, not only are we going to be better in our initial offensive set, but it gives us a chance to hurt the other team on the offensive glass," Coach Kyle Brumett said. "When you turn it over, you're taking our biggest offensive strength away, which is our ability to get second shots. Although Wooster is very good, its strength is not something that should keep us from going to the glass."

The Little Giants won the battle on the boards in both games, but were dominant in the second matchup outrebounding the Scotts 40-27.

"I don't think we had any idea who we were at that time," Brumett said. "The guys that were playing for them had been really good regulars for a long time. If you fast forward to now, they had a great win Tuesday night and we're much more comfortable with who we are. Obviously that win (against Wooster) was huge for us and pointed us in the right direction to finish the season."

Current Little Giant starting point guard Houston Hodges didn't even make the trip to Wooster. The star receiver was recently removed from the football season and still trying to get his hoops legs under him.

"Houston gives us another athlete on the floor," Brumett said. "He gives us a different dynamic defensively. Obviously he doesn't add to the size but when you're as big as we are on the interior, you can be more aggressive and put more pressure on the ball away from the basket. We didn't really have a guy with the ability to do that until Houston got into the swing of things."

Hodges' backcourt mate Kyle Aiton was still transitioning to the point-guard role and struggled against the Scotts' pressure. A recent move to the bench has helped Aiton see the game better, and find his scoring. He led Wabash with 23 points Tuesday night in a first-round win against Allegheny.

"At that point of the season, Kyle was much more marked," Brumett said. "He was Newcomer of the Year, he had some big scoring games in our non-conference schedule, and we didn't really have an opportunity to take him off the ball and let him be a secondary ball handler or more of a scorer."

While backcourt rotations have fluctuated, forward Daniel Purvlicis has remained a constant force in the paint. Purvlicis led Wabash with 15 points in the loss and tallied a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double in the win. He scored 17.1 points-per-game on 63.3 percent shooting and hauled in 7.5 rebounds.

"I think this whole season has built on itself as we've progressed and Coach has made the point that we've learned from every win and loss," Purvlicis said. "The mindset is just about the game being another one that we need to do well and win instead of it being a conference tournament game that will make us nervous."

Purvlicis will anchor the Little Giant defense while the offense runs through him too. In game two, Wooster's top scorer forward Evan Pannell drew the assignment against Purvlicis. The Purvlicis-Pannell matchup is likely one Wabash will try to exploit again.

"Not only are offensive rebounds an opportunity to put points on the board, but they also take their better defenders out of the game," Brumett said. "Some of their guys that are more skilled offensively are also their more athletic defenders – namely Pannell."

Pannell averaged 15.5 points-per-game this year and shot 51.5 percent from the field. Purvlicis and the Little Giants will try to attack him on offense.

"It helps a ton if we can get those guys in foul trouble," Purvlicis said. "It doesn't matter which of our big guys get the ball as long as we're taking it in strong because that's a big plus if we can get their starters off the floor."

Purvlicis could shoulder an even greater load as the Little Giants might be without starting wingman Kasey Oetting who was injured Tuesday. Brumett said Wednesday it was too early to tell if Oetting could play against Wooster.

Defensively, the Scotts will likely see more of the Little Giant 2-3 zone that harassed them on the last day of January.

"I think the biggest reason we beat them was that we were able to slow them down with our zone and outrebound them," Purvlicis said. "I think we'll probably do some of the same stuff Friday and obviously focus on not turning over the ball."

Wooster shot 40.7 percent from the field in the second game compared to 45.6 percent in the first. All-Conference guard Xavier Brown scored 24 points in the first go around, but was limited to 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting in the second.

"They're really skilled at a lot of different spots," Brumett said. "I think that's why the offensive rebounding and interior attack has to be at our A game. I think it's really important to some of Wooster's key guys in situations where they have to foul us or get out of our way."

Wabash's season-long formula for success of dominating the glass and protecting the ball must work Friday night. Tipoff will be at 5:30 p.m. on the Ohio Wesleyan University campus in Delaware, Ohio.

Tickets for Friday's semifinal game are $7 for adults, $5 for children, students without an NCAC institution ID, or individuals with an NCAC guest pass. Students from NCAC institutions with an ID are admitted free of charge. Branch Rickey Arena, the site of Friday's semifinals, will be cleared between games one and two (DePauw vs. Ohio Wesleyan). Fans will need to purchase a seperate ticket to attend game two.