Wabash jumped out to 9-0 lead at Denison Saturday afternoon and never looked back, defeating the host Big Red 86-61.
 
The Little Giants' scoring outburst was sparked by a record-setting shooting effort. Wabash hit 10-of-14 three-point shots for 71.4 percent to set a new single-game school record. Wabash finished 34-of-55 overall for 61.8 percent, the ninth-best single game effort in school history.
 
Good ball movement created quality shots for the team. The Little Giants scored 48 points in the paint thanks in part to 19 assists. Freshman Johnny Jager handed out 13 of those assists to break the single-game mark of 12 set by Ryan Grove in 1990 against Anderson University.
 
The victory moved Wabash (13-10, 7-9 NCAC) into a tie for sixth place in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings with Oberlin. The win also secured a place in the upcoming NCAC Tournament by putting the Little Giants up four games over DePauw and Allegheny with two games remaining on the regular season schedule.
 
Denison (13-10, 8-8 NCAC)  trimmed the Wabash lead to three points at the 13:07 mark of the first half, but after trading baskets the Little Giants went on an 11-1 run that eventually led to a 16-point lead. Wabash stretched its advantage to 22 points at the half, then extended it to as many as 30 over the final period. The Big Red got no closer than 19 over the final 20 minutes in the blowout Wabash victory.
 
Daniel Purvlicis continued his hot shooting, going 11-of-13 from the field for a game-high 24 points. The senior ranked third in Division III in shooting percentage coming into the game. Purvlicis has hit 33-of-39 attempts over the last three games for 84.6 percent. Purvlicis added 14 rebounds for his 11^th double-double this season. Austin Burton matched his single-game best by scoring 18 points, going 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from three-point range. He also added four assists. Ben Stachowski scored 11 points and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-3 from three-point range. Jager added 10 points.
 
Daniel is shooting 79 percent from the field in our last six games," Wabash head coach Kyle Brumett said. "He is playing at an extremely high level. That is leadership. Our guard play has continued to improve as the season has gone on. We are getting very good shooting from Burton, Stachowski, and Duncan Roy. Jager, CJ McMann, and Burton are also playing better at the right time. "
 
David Maurer scored 15 points to lead Denison in scoring.
 
"We have had an outstanding week," Brumett said. "We always talk about playing our best basketball in February, and we have improved this past week. We have to keep it going into this week. You are only as good as your next game once you get to February."
 
Wabash finishes the regular season with a pair of road games, beginning Wednesday night with a 7:30 p.m. contest against arch-rival DePauw University (7-16, 3-13 NCAC). The Tigers were eliminated from conference tournament contention with an 81-79 loss at home to Kenyon College earlier today. Wabash plays at Kenyon (9-14, 6-10 NCAC) Saturday to close out the regular season.