OBERLIN, OH -- Vinny Buccilla drilled a half-court, three-point shot just ahead of the second-half buzzer to tie Saturday's North Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Oberlin at 69-69, forcing overtime. The Little Giants used an 11-of-12 free throw effort and two three-point baskets from Gavin Schippert in the extra session to claim an 86-82 overtime road victory over the Yeomen. 

Buccilla scored a team-high 22 points in the game, but no basket was more significant than his final shot of regulation. Wabash (14-4, 7-2 NCAC) trailed 69-66 after Anastasis Spyroglou gave Oberlin (5-13, 1-8 NCAC) the lead on a pair of free throws with two seconds left on the clock. Wabash called timeout and drew up a play that found Buccilla open on the right side of the floor. The sophomore pulled up after crossing the midcourt line and swished the shot to even the score at 69-69 to force an extra five-minute session.

Schippert gave the Little Giants the lead in overtime with his first three-point basket. Buccilla added two free throws to put Wabash up five before the Yeomen hit a three-point basket to answer and trim the lead back to two points at 74-72. Josh Whack scored a pair of free throws, but Oberlin responded with a basket to keep the Wabash lead at two points, 76-74.

Schippert nailed his second three-pointer with 1:17 remaining in the overtime period, giving Wabash a 79-74 lead. Whack added another free throw with 38 seconds left to extend the lead to six points before Oberlin nailed a long-range three with 31 seconds remaining to draw within three points at 80-77. 

Two free throws from Ahmoni Jones pushed the Wabash lead back to five points with 29 seconds left in OT, but another Oberlin three-pointer made it a two-point contest again. Edreece Redmond hit two more free throws with 19 seconds on the clock to push the lead to 84-80 in favor of the Little Giants. Wabash fouled Oberlin's Henry Leiber after a missed three-point shot and Oberlin's offensive rebound before the Yeomen could launch another long-range shot with three seconds left in overtime. Leiber hit the first free throw and appeared to try and miss the second, but the shot rimmed in to keep Wabash in front 84-82. Jones scored the last two free throws of the game in the final seconds to give the Little Giants the four-point victory.

Wabash finished with four players scoring in double figures, led by Buccilla with 22 points. Schippert added 13 points, and Whack helped with 13 points, five assists, and two blocks.

Led by Schippert's three offensive rebounds, Wabash owned the offensive glass by pulling down 14 boards, resulting in 11 second-chance points.

How It Happened

After falling behind 4-0, Wabash went on a 9-0 run with 18:39 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Whack to take a 9-4 lead. The Little Giants then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down 35-34.

Oberlin kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 59-57 advantage before Wabash went on a 7-0 run, finished off by Buccilla's three, to seize a 64-59 lead with 3:53 to go in the contest. The Yeomen fought back to even things up at 69-69 and sent the game to overtime. Buccilla's 3-pointer sent the contest to an extra period as time expired. Wabash got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for nine of its 35 total points.

Wabash started overtime with a bang, going on a 5-0 run to seize a 74-69 lead with 3:29 to go in the period. The Yeomen narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Little Giants still held on for the 86-82 win.

Game Notes

» Wabash found success from three-point land, knocking down 11 treys in the game, going 11-31 from behind the line (35.5 percent). The Little Giants shot 26-of-67 from the field (38.8 percent) and finished 23-of-32 from the free throw line (71.9 percent).

 » Wabash had a 47-39 edge on the boards in the win. Wabash cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 14 offensive boards in the game. Wabash got a game-high nine rebounds from both Ahmoni Jones and Edreece Redmond.

 » Oberlin shot 29-of-66 from the field (43.9 percent) and 10-of-25 from three-point range (40 percent). The Yeomen shot 14-of-20 from the free throw line (70 percent). Dimitrije Radusinovic scored 25 points to lead Oberlin in scoring. Spyroglou scored 15 points, and Dorde Otasevic added 11 points and eight rebounds.

This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.