CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN -- Wabash owned a 20-point halftime lead in Wednesday evening's North Coast Athletic Conference basketball game against Wittenberg University but had to hold on down the stretch to claim a 72-62 win over the visiting Tigers.
 
Wabash (13-4, 6-2 NCAC) led from start to finish, jumping to a 22-point lead at 41-19 with 2:33 left in the first half. After jumping out to a 12-8 advantage, Wabash went on an 8-0 run with 13:39 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Randy Kelley, increasing its lead to 20-8. The Little Giants then added eight points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 43-23 advantage. Wabash did most of its first-half damage in the paint, scoring 36 of its 43 points close to the basket.
 
The second half was a different story. After Wabash pushed its lead back to 22 points at 52-30 in the first six minutes of the final period, Wittenberg (7-9, 3-6 NCAC) began whittling away at the Wabash advantage. The Little Giants held a 62-45 lead with 6:26 remaining after a basket from Styles McCorkle. It would be the last basket Wabash would score in the game. The Tigers used a 9-0 run to close a 63-47 Wabash lead to seven points with 3:21 left to play in the contest. Wittenberg got to within four points at 64-60 with 2:21 on the game clock before a pair of Gavin Schippert free throws put the Little Giants back up by six. Wabash hit six of its final eight free throws in the final minute to secure the ten-point victory.
 
The Little Giants had three players score in double figures, led by Ahmoni Jones, who had 17 points and nine rebounds. Vinny Buccilla recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Edreece Redmond chipped in with 11 points and two steals.
 
Wabash out-rebounded Wittenberg 34-31 in Wednesday's game, led by Buccilla's 12 boards.

Game Notes
» The victory is the fifth consecutive win by Wabash over Wittenberg, and the fourth in five games played at Chadwick Court.
» The Little Giants held the Tigers to only 38.3 percent shooting from the field on 23-of-60 shooting. Wabash shot 26-of-50 from the field for 52 percent. The Little Giants finished 19-of-from the field in the first half (57.6 percent0
» Wabash made 3-of-13 three-point tries (23.1 percent) and shot 17-of-26 from the free throw line.
» Wittenberg made 2-of-13 three-point shots (15.4 percent) and 14-of-18 free throws (77.8 percent). Trey Killens led the Tigers with 17 points. Josh Tolliver added 14 points. Killens and Daniel Asher each snared a team-high five rebounds for Wittenberg.
» Wabash had a 34-31 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Little Giants finished with 46 points in the paint. Wittenberg forced 12 Wabash turnovers that led to 21 points for the Tigers. The Little Giants forced ten turnovers and scored ten points on Wittenberg's miscues.
» Wabash got a game-high 12 rebounds from Vinny Buccilla.
 
This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.