A field goal by Centre's Jacob Bates with just over a second remaining in the game sent 14^th-ranked Wabash to a 77-76 defeat in its opening game of the 2019-2020 season.
 
The Little Giants (0-1) held a 76-67 lead with three minutes left to play but did not score again in the contest. Wabash committed two of its 18 turnovers over the final three-minute stretch and missed two front ends of one-and-one free throw situations. Centre (2-1) scored on a pair of three-point shots in the last two minutes then closed the Wabash lead to one point at 76-75 with 11 seconds left to play on a driving layup by Dawson Crump.
 
The Little Giants had one last chance to extend its lead but missed the front end of its final one-and-one free throw tries. Crump grabbed the rebound for the visiting Colonels and drove the length of the floor. He lifted a pass across the lane to Bates who hit the running jumper to put Centre in front by a point with 1.6 seconds left on the game clock.
 
Wabash threw the ball to half court on the final play of the game but Crump sealed the victory by intercepting the pass and running out the clock.
 
The Little Giants trailed by two points at halftime, 39-37, before taking their first lead of the second half on a three-point shot by Jack Davidson with 14:08 left to play in the game. Tyler Watson added back-to-back three-pointers to push the Wabash advantage to 59-51. Watson scored two free throws with 11:11 on the game clock to give Wabash a 61-51 lead.
 
Centre cut the score to six points before another Watson three-pointer and a driving jumper in the lane by Kellen Schreiber pushed the score to 66-56. Harrison Hallstrom scored two of his nine points in the game with 8:12 remaining to give the Little Giants their biggest lead of the game at 68-56.
 
Wabash held the lead at 72-62 thanks to a basket by Colten Garland with 5:36 remaining. The Little Giants maintained their advantage at 76-67 on a layup by Hallstrom with three minutes left to play before Centre began its 10-0 run to close out the contest and earning the victory.
 
Wabash shot 50 percent from the field for the game at 27-for-54 but hit just 9-of-13 free throws for 69.2 percent. The Little Giants led all of Division III in free throw shooting last year with a mark of 81.7 percent. Wabash's 18 turnovers led to 15 points for the Colonels. The Little Giants scored 11 points off eight Centre miscues. Wabash outrebounded Centre 35-23 and used that advantage to score 14 second-chance baskets.
 
Davidson led both teams with 29 points. Schreiber tossed in 14 points and Watson scored 13. Hallstrom led Wabash in rebounding with six. Perry Ayers finished with 19 points to lead Centre's offense. Bates scored 15 points and Crump added 14.
 
Wabash returns to action Tuesday night with a 7 p.m. home contest against in-state foe Earlham College.