Box Score Wabash fired a desperation shot just before the final buzzer sounded in its Wednesday night home game against archrival DePauw. The attempt would not fall, sending the Little Giants to a 62-61 loss to the Tigers in North Coast Athletic conference play.
 
Wabash (12-12, 8-9 NCAC) trailed by eight points with five minutes remaining in the game. The Little Giants held DePauw (11-13, 7-10 NCAC) to two points from that point forward. Harrison Halstrom started the late rally with layup to cut the lead to 60-54. A drive to the basket by Jack Davidson added three more points to the Wabash total with the layup and ensuing free throw after Jack VandeMerkt,'s basket provided the final points for the Tigers.
 
Davidson found his way through the DePauw defense for another layup with 33 seconds left in the game to trim the deficit to 62-59. The Little Giants forced a held ball with 28 seconds remaining. Wabash answered again with a basket from Hallstrom to make it a one-point game.
 
DePauw broke the Wabash press after a timeout. A quick foul by the Little Giants sent Nick Felke to the free throw line for one and bonus. His lone attempt missed and ended in the hands of Connor Rotterman.
 
The Tigers fouled with five seconds showing on the game clock to force Wabash to inbound near it basket. The Little Giants tried to get the ball into Davidson's hands, but nearly turned the ball over. Parker Manges grabbed the ball and launched an off-balance shot that hit off the back of the iron and fell harmlessly to the floor to end the game.
 
Wabash trailed by as many as nine points with 9:09 remaining in the game, but held DePauw to 2-of-10 shooting from the field after that point. The Little Giants failed to take advantage of its defensive effort, hitting just 5-of-11 shots in the final nine minutes while turning the basketball over four times. Wabash committed 11 turnovers for the game that led to 10 points for the Tigers. Several of the Little Giants' miscues were unforced as DePauw finished the game with only two steals.
 
DePauw used its inside scoring options to take an early lead in the game. The Tigers shot 16-of-30 in the opening 20 minutes of the game to take a 37-33 lead at halftime. DePauw finished with 34 of its 62 points in the paint and shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the field overall.
 
Wabash finished 23-of-58 from the field and connected on 8-of-18 three-point attempts. Davidson scored a game-high 21 point for Wabash. Hallstrom added 16 points.
 
VandeMerkt paced DePauw with a 15-point effort. He also led both teams with 11 rebounds. Felke scored 14 points, while Josh Hall tossed in 10 points.
 
Wabash closes out the regular season Saturday at 3 p.m. on the road at Denison University.