CINCINNATI, OH – The 16^th-ranked Wabash College basketball team got a 24-point showing from the bench on the way to a 71-58 victory against the Mount Saint Joseph Lions on the road Wednesday.

The Little Giants (1-0) had two players score in double figures, led by Ahmoni Jones, who had 21 points and seven rebounds. Sam Comer added 16 points and nine rebounds.
 
Comer scored eight of the first ten points for Wabash to help the Little Giants take an early 13-5 lead. Jones took control of the scoring in the opening 20 minutes by connecting on four-of-six shots from the field with a three-pointer to score nine first-half points. Mount St. Joseph (0-1) stayed as close as three points in the opening half until Wabash went on a 22-6 run over the final 11:40 of the first half. Vinny Buccilla chipped in six points in the opening period, and Avery Beaver came off the bench to tally seven points to lift the Little Giants to a 41-20 halftime lead.
 
The Little Giants maintained its large lead, extending the advantage to as many as 23 points midway through the second half before the host Lions drew as close as 12 points in the final minute before Wabash secured its 13-point victory for the first win of the season.
 
Led by Comer's three offensive rebounds, Wabash owned the offensive glass, pulling down ten boards that resulted in 13 second-chance points. The Wabash defense held Mount Saint Joseph shooters to only 37.5 percent from the field, including 22.7 percent from three-point range.
 
Buccilla and Randy Kelley each scored eight points for the Little Giants. Beaver chipped in seven points, and Styles McCorkle added six points off the bench for Wabash. Luke Collinsworth led Mount St. Joseph with 27 points and 11 rebounds.
 
How It Happened
After jumping out to a 29-18 advantage, Wabash went on an 8-0 run with 4:15 left in the first half to increase its lead to 37-18. The Little Giants then added two points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 41-20 advantage. Wabash did most of its first-half damage in the paint, scoring 22 of its 41 points close to the basket.

Wabash kept its lead intact before going on a 5-0 run to grow the lead to 60-37 with 8:59 to go in the contest. Wabash got a boost from its bench in the final period, as non-starters accounted for eight of its 30 total points.
 
 
Game Notes
» The Little Giants held the Lions to only 37.5 percent shooting from the field.
» Wabash never trailed in the second half on its way to victory.
» The Wabash bench made an impact by scoring 24 points to its scoring output.
» Wabash had a 37-34 edge on the boards in the win.
» Wabash cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting ten offensive boards in the game.
» Ahmoni Jones led the Little Giants with 21 points.
» Wabash got a team-high nine rebounds from Sam Comer.
 
Parts of this article were created using technology provided by Data Skrive.