CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN -- Wabash jumped out to a 17-point first-half lead before holding on for an 81-78 home victory in its 2022-23 season-opening game versus Mount St. Joseph University.

 The Little Giants took a 52-35 lead over Mount Saint Joseph into the halftime break but overcame a cold-shooting second half to secure the three-point victory.

The Little Giants (1-0) had four players score double figures, led by Edreece Redmond, who had 19 points, six rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Champ McCorkle tacked on 18 points, and Sam Comer chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds. Ahmoni Jones scored 10 points to go with five boards.

Wabash racked up 20 assists on 31 made field goals. Vinny Buccilla's six assists led the Little Giants, and Kayden Beatty also chipped in with four assists of his own.
Wabash recorded seven blocks. Ahmoni Jones' three rejections led the way individually for the Little Giants.

How It Happened
After jumping out to a 41-33 advantage, Wabash went on an 11-0 run with 3:33 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Redmond, to increase its lead to 52-33. Mount St. Joseph scored the final basket to send both teams to the locker room at halftime with a 52-35 Little Giant advantage. Wabash relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down seven shots to account for 21 of its 52 points.

Wabash went on a 7-0 run, finished off by Comer's jumper, to grow the lead to 64-46 with 15:16 to go in the contest. The Lions began narrowing the margin, using an 11-0 run of their own, and eventually cut the lead to one point at 75-74 with 2:32 left in regulation. Jones hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to three points at 77-74 with 2:15 remaining. Mount St. Joseph answered with a basket from Luke Collinsworth to draw within one point once again. Jones scored on the next trip down the floor for Wabash to boost the lead back to three points before the Lions scored again with 1:18 left to make the score 79-78.

Wabash put up two shots over the next twenty seconds but grabbed offensive rebounds on both missed attempts to keep the ball. Champ McCorkle provided the game-winning shot on a driving layup for his 18th point of the game. The Little Giants held the three-point lead and blocked one of two Mount St. Joseph three-pointers in the final six seconds to hold on for the victory.

Game Notes
» Wabash knocked down nine treys in the game.
» Wabash never trailed in the second half on its way to victory.
» Wabash tallied 20 total assists in the game and forced 13 turnovers.
» The Little Giants tallied seven blocks as a team.
» Wabash turned the ball over seven times while dishing out 20 assists.
» Edreece Redmond led the Little Giants with 19 points. He added six rebounds, three assists, and two blocked shots. 
» Champ McCorkle added 18 points and four rebounds. Sam Comer scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds. 
» The Little Giants shot 22-30 from the field in the first half before cooling off in the second with a 9-of-29 performance. Wabash shot 31-of-59 for the game for 52.5 percent.
» Wabash got six rebounds from both Comer and Redmond.
»Mount St. Joseph (0-1) finished 31-of-57 from the field for 54.5 percent. Luke Collinsworth led the Lions with 28 points and six rebounds. 

This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.