Wabash lost its first North Coast Athletic Conference basketball game of the season Saturday afternoon in a 75-62 contest at Wittenberg University. 

Wabash (7-3, 3-1 NCAC) entered the game ranked eighth among NCAA Division III teams in scoring defense and the conference leader in field goal defense. The Little Giants limited previous opponents to 58.9 points and a 37.9 field goal shooting percentage. Wittenberg (7-3, 3-1 NCAC), however, took advantage of the familiar setting of its home facility of the Pam Evans Smith Arena and connected on 46 percent of its shots from the field for the victory. 

Wabash held an early 3-2 lead thanks to a basket by Ahmoni Jones 1:30 into the contest. The host Tigers scored the next five points for a 7-2 lead and never trailed again. The Little Giants fell behind as many as six points on a pair of free throws by Trey Killens, who finished with a game-high 22 points for the Tigers.

The Little Giants rallied behind baskets by Nate Matelic and Rich Brooks to cut the lead to one at 17-16 midway through the first half. Wittenberg got an 8-0 run to stretch the advantage to nine points at 25-16. The Tigers held that nine-point edge with 3:55 left in the opening period until Avery Beaver came off the bench to score Wabash's final seven points of the half. Beaver's offensive output helped narrow the Wittenberg lead to four points at 33-29 at the halftime horn.

Wittenberg stretched its lead to double digits with two consecutive three-point baskets to open the final period. The Tigers extended the lead to as many as 19 points with 11:27 left in the game before a final Wabash offensive charge. Wittenberg shot 15 of 26 from the field over the final 20 minutes for 57.7 percent and made 4 of 8 three-point shots.

Beaver and Brooks combined for 19 of the Little Giants' next 23 points, joined by four points from Jones,  to trim the Tigers' lead to eight points at 69-61 with 3:39 remaining. Killens ended any thoughts of a comeback with a basket and free throws to extend the lead back to double digits for the final time.

Jones and Brooks shared the Wabash scoring lead with 17 points apiece. Brooks tallied 12 points in the second half. Beaver added a season-high 14 points for the Little Giants. Jones picked up his first double-double of the season by grabbing 10 rebounds to go with his 17 points. 

 Wabash shot 22 of 54 from the field (40.7 percent) and improved to 7 of 21 from three-point range for the game after hitting just 2 of 11 long-range shots in the opening period. 

The Little Giants are off until December 19, when they travel to Washington, D.C., to play in the Catholic University Holiday Classic.