GREENCASTLE, IN --The Wabash College basketball team got a 36-point showing from the bench but fell 86-80 to the DePauw Tigers on the road Saturday in North Coast Athletic Conference play.

The Little Giants (12-4, 5-2 NCAC) held a four-point lead at halftime, 34-30, thanks to balanced scoring from Ahmoni Jones (7 points), Vinny Buccilla (7 points), Avery Beaver (5 points), and Josh Whack (5 points).
 
DePauw (13-3, 5-2 NCAC) rode its leading scorer in the second half to outscore the visiting Wabash squad by ten points. Elijah Hales entered the game ranked second in the conference in scoring at 18 points a game. The Little Giants limited him to 1-of-4 shooting for two points in the first 20 minutes of the game. The Tiger senior scored 31 second-half points to finish with 33 for the contest.

Despite Hales' second-half scoring output, Wabash held a four-point lead at 49-45 with 10:45 left to play in the contest. DePauw tied the game at 49-49 before Hales hit a jumper in the lane to put the Tigers in front with 8:59 left on the clock.
 
Beaver answered with a three-point basket to give Wabash the one-point lead, but the Tigers jumped back in front on a driving layup by Ronald Johnson. Wabash eventually tied the game at 55-55 with 7:46 left to play on a three-point basket by Buccilla. The Tigers responded with two straight baskets to regain the lead for the final time, moving in front by as many as eight points with 2:41 remaining in the contest.

Wabash drew as close as four points on two different occasions, including a layup by Edreece Redmond with 32 seconds left to make it an 82-78 game. DePauw made its final two free throws to put the game away and end a two-game winning streak by Wabash.

Wabash had four players score in double figures, led by Jones, who had 20 points. Beaver tacked on 17 points off the bench, and Buccilla helped with 15 points and two steals. Whack came off the bench to score a season-high 13 points.

Led by Gavin Schippert's six offensive rebounds, Wabash pulled down 13 boards, resulting in 18 second-chance points.

The Wabash defense caused its share of mistakes in Saturday's game, forcing 15 DePauw turnovers while committing 12. Those takeaways turned into 17 points on the offensive end of the floor. Styles McCorkle, Buccilla, and Beaver led the way individually for the Little Giants with two steals.

How It Happened
After falling behind 27-25, Wabash went on a 5-0 run with 2:19 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Buccilla, to take a 30-27 lead. The Little Giants added one point to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 34-30 advantage. Wabash relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down five shots to account for 15 of its 34 points.

DePauw proceeded to take a 43-42 lead before Wabash went on a 5-0 run, finished off by Jones' jumper, to seize a 47-43 lead with 11:45 to go in the contest. DePauw re-asserted control, outscoring the Little Giants 43-33 the rest of the way to hand Wabash the 86-80 loss. Wabash got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 22 of its 46 total points.

Game Notes
» Wabash lit it up from three-point land, knocking down ten treys in the game.
» The Wabash bench made an impact by adding 36 points to its scoring output.
» Wabash shot 26-of-63 from the field (41.3 percent) and 10-of-27 from three-point range (37 percent). The Little Giants connected on 18-of-23 free throw tries (78.3 percent).
» DePauw shot 29-of-50 overall (58 percent) and 6-of-15 from three-point range (40 percent). The Tigers finished 22-of-31 from the free throw line (71 percent).
» The Wabash defense forced 15 turnovers that led to 17 points.
» Wabash cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 13 offensive boards in the game.
» Ahmoni Jones led the Little Giants with 20 points.
» Wabash got a game-high nine rebounds from Gavin Schippert.
» Hales led DePauw with 33 points. Ronald Johnson scored 12 points. Sam Jacobs added ten points.
 
This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.