The Wabash basketball team suffered its first loss of the season in North Coast Athletic Conference action Saturday in a 91-84 contest at the College of Wooster. The loss in the first of four consecutive road games moved Wabash (17-2, 11-1 NCAC) into a tie for first place with the Scots (16-3, 11-1 NCAC) in the conference standings.
 
Wabash trailed throughout the game after falling behind 14-0 in the first six minutes. Connor Rotterman ended the Little Giants' scoring drought with a three-point basket with 13:55 on the first-half game clock. Wooster maintained the double-digit lead until Harrison Hallstrom connected on a basket and free-throw combination to draw Wabash within nine points at 28-19. The host Scots stretched the lead to 16 points, their largest advantage of the game, with 7:12 left in the opening half.
 
The Little Giants began carving into the Wooster lead. Alex Eberhard started a run for Wabash that eventually trimmed the lead to five points at 41-36 after a pair of Jack Davidson free throws. The two teams traded points over the next 2-1/2 minutes to send Wooster to the locker room with a 47-42 lead at halftime.
 
Davidson opened the second half with a driving layup for two of his game-high 34 points, cutting the lead to 47-44. Wooster jumped back in front by eight points before the Little Giants mounted another scoring run. Kellen Schreiber hit a two-point jumper followed by another three-point play from Hallstrom. Davidson capped the 7-0 scoring streak with two free throws to put Wabash down a point at 54-53 with 13:26 remaining.
 
The Little Giants forced a missed shot by Wooster on the Scots' next trip down the floor, but Trenton Tipton grabbed the offensive rebound and scored the put-back basket. Wooster eventually regained the double-digit lead and held an 11-point advantage with 2:41 left to play.
 
Wabash mounted one final rally, drawing to within three points at 87-84 with 32 seconds remaining. Wooster closed out the game with four free throws to close out the win.
 
The Little Giants shot 31-of-67 from the field (46.3 percent) but struggled from three-point range, connecting on only 4-of-13 tries from behind the arc with three of those makes coming in the final two minutes of the game. Wooster finished 30-of-65 from the field (46.2 percent), including 9-of-23 from behind the three-point line (39.1 percent).
 
Hallstrom finished with 16 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Schreiber added 15 points for the Little Giants.
 
Danyon Hampy led Wooster with 31 points. Eric Bulic scored 11 points and snared 14 rebounds. Keonn Scott chipped in 18 points coming off the bench. Reece Dupler added 11 points for the Scots' offense.
 
Wabash continues its road trip with two games next weekend. The Little Giants play at Allegheny Friday night at 7 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. contest Saturday afternoon at Hiram.