Wabash College faced the Catholic University of America in the first game of the Cardinals' 2023 Holiday Invitational Tuesday evening in Washington, D.C. The Little Giants led early but could not hold on in an 86-72 loss.

Wabash (7-4) made a season-high 16 three-point baskets while shooting 41 percent from distance for the game. The Little Giants could not match the red-hot shooting effort by Catholic (8-2) as the host Cardinals finished 34 of 60 from the field for 57 percent shooting, including a 5-of-8 effort from three-point range (62.5 percent). 

The two teams traded baskets over the game's first five minutes for a 12-12 tie. That's when Wabash took control of the first half thanks to a 13-point effort from Rich Brooks. The sophomore came off the bench to score eight consecutive points to lift the Little Giants to a 20-15 advantage with 12:51 remaining in the opening period. Wabash went on an 11-2 run with 10:05 left in the first half, culminating in a transition three-pointer from Avery Beaver after a turnover on the defensive end of the floor to increase its lead to 31-17.

Wabash cooled off offensively over the final 4:32 of the half, going scoreless from the field. Catholic took advantage of the cold shooting, with Cardinals' guard Tommy Kelly connecting on four of five shot attempts to help draw even at 38-38 heading into halftime. Wabash got a boost from behind the arc in the period, hitting nine shots to account for 27 of its 38 points. Ahmoni Jones provided the hot hand for Wabash in the early going with three three-point baskets to go with three first-half three-pointers by Brooks.

Catholic then snagged a 69-53 advantage before Wabash responded by going on a 9-0 run, finished off by Jones' three, to shrink the deficit to 69-62 with 5:11 to go in the contest. Catholic responded and outscored the Little Giants the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 86-72. Wabash shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting nine shots from long distance to score 27 of its 38 first-half points.

The scoring drought continued into the second half for Wabash. The Little Giants committed three turnovers and missed their only shot attempt in the first two minutes of the second period. Catholic scored seven points to move in front 45-38 until Gavin Schippert nailed a three-point shot to end the seven-minute segment without a basket to keep Wabash close at 45-41. 

The Cardinals continued their hot shooting, eventually taking a double-digit lead with a pair of free throws from CJ Ruoff to take a 58-48 lead with 12:18 left to play. Beaver trimmed the advantage back to seven points with another three-pointer, but Catholic answered by scoring the next five points for a 63-51 lead midway through the period. 

Jones cut the lead to ten points with his first basket of the second half, but a Cardinals 6-0 scoring run put Wabash behind 69-53 with 7:30 remaining. Back-to-back triples from Randy Kelley and Beaver, followed by another three-pointer by Jones, sparked a 9-0 run to shrink the deficit to 69-62 with 5:11 to go in the contest. The Little Giants would get no closer as Catholic outscored Wabash by seven over the final five minutes to claim the 14-point victory. 

Jones finished with a game-high 22 points for Wabash. Brooks was held to four points in the second half and finished with 17 points. Beaver added 12 points. 

Five Cardinals players scored in double figures, led by Ruoff's 18-point effort off the bench. Jesse Hafemeister scored 14 points. Kelly finished with 14 points, and Brian Herbert chipped in 11. Enzo Sechi picked up 10 points.

Wabash snagged 32 rebounds, led by nine each from Jones and Schippert, but was out-rebounded by Catholic with 43 caroms. Hafemeister finished with a double-double with 12 rebounds to go with his 15 points. 

Wabash faces Eastern University from Pennsylvania on Wednesday in the final round of the Invitational. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. 

Game Notes

» The Little Giants shot well from three-point range, knocking down 16 of 39 long-range attempts.

» The Little Giants recorded an assist on 61 percent of made baskets, finishing the game with 14 assists on 23 made baskets.

» The Wabash bench came alive by adding 26 points to its scoring output.

» Wabash turned the ball over six times while dishing out 14 assists.

» Wabash got nine rebounds from both Gavin Schippert and Ahmoni Jones.

Parts of this article were created using technology provided by Data Skrive.