CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN – Wabash took a one-point lead with seven minutes left in the first half and never trailed again, holding off a tough DePauw University Tigers team 89-79 Wednesday evening in front of a capacity crowd at Chadwick Court.
 
Wabash (16-4, 9-2 NCAC) trailed DePauw (14-7, 6-6 NCAC) by as many as seven points on three separate occasions in the first half. Down 16-9 six minutes into the contest, the Little Giants got back-to-back three-pointers from Ahmoni Jones and Vinny Buccilla to cut the Tigers' lead to one.
 
Buccilla gave Wabash its first lead at the 8:40 mark of the first half with a pull-up jumper for a 19-18 advantage. DePauw answered with a basket from Ronald Johnson, but Gavin Schippert scored a put-back hoop with 6:52 left on the clock to put the Little Giants up for good at 21-20 in the first half. Wabash stretched its lead to six points in the final minute of the half and took a 38-32 lead to the locker room at the break.
 
The Little Giants shot 62.5 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, connecting on 15-of-24 shots. The Little Giants hit 3-of-9 from three-point range for 33.3 percent and went 5-of-6 from the free throw line for 83.3 percent.
 
DePauw cut into the Wabash lead in the second half after the Little Giants pushed their advantage to as many as nine points in the first five minutes of the final period. The Tigers trimmed the lead to one point at 60-59 at 11:35, but a two-pointer and a free throw from Josh Whack expanded the lead back to four points. Buccilla gave Wabash a seven-point lead with his final three-pointer of the game with 7:36 left for a 70-63 contest.
 
DePauw got as close as four points with 3:11 remaining, but Sam Comer hit a back-down basket to push the lead to 78-72. Comer scored again after a DePauw turnover to make it an 80-72 lead for Wabash. Elijah Hales answered with a basket with 1:46 left on the clock before Comer nailed a dagger 3-pointer with 1:22 left to put Wabash ahead 83-74. The Little Giants made their final six free throws to offset a pair of baskets by DePauw to claim the ten-point victory.

The Little Giants finished with four players scoring in double figures, led by Jones, who had 27 points. Buccilla matched his career high with 25 points, and Comer chipped in with 14 points and five assists. Whack scored a career-best 14 points, eclipsing his 13-point effort earlier in the season against DePauw.
 
Wabash did a great job taking care of the basketball, dishing out 12 assists while turning the ball over six times. Comer's five assists paced the Little Giants. Wabash disrupted several DePauw shots in the contest, coming away with five blocks. Whack led the way individually for the Little Giants with two rejections.
 
How It Happened
After falling behind 16-9, Wabash went on a 6-0 run with 13:38 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Buccilla, to narrow its deficit to 16-15. The Little Giants then closed the rest of the gap and grabbed a 38-32 lead heading into halftime. Wabash did most of its first-half damage in the paint, scoring 20 of its 38 points close to the basket.
 
Wabash kept its lead intact before going on a 5-0 run to grow the lead to 85-74 with 1:03 to go in the contest. The Tigers narrowed the margin to eight points before the game was over, but the Little Giants still cruised for the 89-79 win. Wabash shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting seven shots from deep to score 21 of its 51 points.
 
Game Notes
» Wabash shot 31-of-53 from the field for the game (58.5 percent) and made 10-of-25 three-point attempts (40 percent). Wabash connected on 17-of-19 free throws in the contest (89.5 percent).
» DePauw went 29-of-64 from the field (45.3 percent) and shot 8-of-22 from three-point range. The Tigers finished 13-of-17 from the free-throw line.
» Wabash had a 30-29 edge on the boards in the win. Buccilla grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
» Wabash turned the ball over six times while dishing out 12 assists. Comer finished with five assists. Jones and Buccilla each had two assists.
» Sam Jacobs led DePauw with 21 points. Hales scored 18 points for the Tigers. Camden Brown added 11 points, and Grant Niego chipped in 10 points.
 
This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.