JACKSONVILLE, IL -- Wabash outscored North Park University 39-28 in the second half while limiting the Vikings to eight baskets in the final 20 minutes to claim a 70-63 victory in the first game of the 2023 Bill Merris Tournament hosted by Illinois College.
The tournament's first game pitted two top-25 teams in the first D3hoops.com poll to begin the season. Wabash (2-1) opened the season ranked 16th, while North Park (2-1) is ranked 21st.
Wabash trailed 17-11 after nine minutes before the Little Giants went on a 10-0 run with 11:23 left in the first half. Sophomore Rich Brooks completed the run with two of his 12 points to give Wabash a 21-17 lead with seven minutes left in the first half.
North Park rallied with a basket by Nabil Kone and back-to-back scores from Shamar Pumphrey to regain a 25-21 lead. Sam Comer ended the Viking's short run with two of his team-best 16 points. North Park pushed its lead to six points with two minutes left in the half. Two free throws from Randy Kelley, who finished with 13 points, trimmed the Vikings' lead to four points. Comer added two more from the charity stripe, but North Park scored the final points of the half to take a 35-31 lead to the locker room.
The Little Giants scored the first four points of the second half to tie the game at 35-35. After trading points to keep the game tied with 16:37 left in the contest, Wabash went on a 12-2 run over the next four minutes to move in front 49-39. North Park cut the advantage to six points at 49-43, but a three-pointer from Brooks and a basket by Edreece Redmond pushed the lead back to double digits at 54-43 with 9:27 left to play.
Wabash stretched the lead to 15 points before the Vikings mounted one final scoring run. North Park scored four of its eight second-half baskets over a four-minute stretch to pull within eight points at 61-53 with 3:57 left to play. North Park got as close as five points in the final minute, trailing 68-63 with 21 seconds left on the clock. Redmond closed the game with free throws to seal the victory and send Wabash to Saturday's championship game.
The Little Giants took advantage of 28 fouls committed by North Park. Wabash connected on 21 of 34 free throw attempts compared to a 12 of 16 effort from the stripe by the Vikings. Wabash also forced 14 turnovers that led to 22 points. The Little Giants committed ten turnovers in the contest that North Park converted into 13 points.
Comer's 16-point effort led Wabash in scoring. Redmond added 13 points, while Kelley came off the bench to chip in 13 points. Brooks added 12 points off the bench for the Little Giants. Kolden Vanlandingham led North Park in scoring with 21 points. Pumphrey finished with 14 points.
Wabash shot 22 of 57 from the field for 38.6 percent. North Park finished 22-of-63 from the field.
Wabash plays Illinois College in Saturday's championship game. The Blueboys defeated Coe College 77-66 in Friday's second game.
Game Notes
» The Little Giants held the Vikings to only 34.9 percent shooting from the field.
» The Wabash bench scored 27 points in the victory.
» Randy Kelley and Rich Brooks came off the bench to score 13 and 12 points, respectively.
» Wabash had a 46-40 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Wabash defense forced 14 turnovers and scored 22 points off the Vikings' miscues.
» Wabash cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 12 offensive boards in the game.
» Sam Comer led the Little Giants with 16 points.
» Wabash got a game-high ten rebounds from Ahmoni Jones.
