Wabash took a five-point lead in the first eight minutes of Saturday's North Coast Athletic Conference basketball game against Hiram College to eventually earn a comfortable 89-50 home victory.
 
Senior Sam Comer and sophomore Rich Brooks led Wabash (9-8, 5-3 NCAC) with 18 points apiece. Brooks brought the Chadwick Court crowd to its feet with a break-away slam dunk in the second half with the Little Giants already in front 37-19 at halftime. Avery Beaver joined the duo in double figures by scoring 10 points.
 
All 17 Wabash players dressed for the game saw action in the victory. The Little Giant reserves scored 52 points to outscore the visitors from Hiram (2-14, 0-7 NCAC).
 
Wabash traded early baskets with the visiting Terriers until both teams went silent from the field. Neither team scored a basket over three minutes. The Little Giants used free throw shooting to take a 13-7 lead until Hiram's Ivan Yang ended the streak with a basket to cut the Wabash lead to four points. The Little Giants answered with six straight points to go up 19-9 with 7:27 left in the first half.
 
After jumping out to a 27-17 advantage at the 4:42 mark of the opening period, Wabash went on an 8-0 run, culminating in a bucket from Randy Kelley, to increase its lead to 35-17. The Little Giants then maintained that lead and entered halftime with a 37-19 advantage. Wabash got a great contribution from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 13 of its 37 total points.
 
Following intermission, Wabash kept widening that lead, expanding it to 56-33 before going on a 14-0 run, finished off by Champ McCorkle's layup, to grow the lead to 70-33 with 8:10 to go in the contest. The Little Giants kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 89-50 win.
 
Wabash shot 30 of 62 from the field for 48.4 percent, shooting 54.3 percent over the final 20 minutes. The defense limited Hiram to 17-of-59 shooting from the field for 28.8 percent. The Little Giants dominated the boards, outrebounding Hiram 52-32. Comer Ahmoni Jones and Noah Hupmann each snared a team-best seven rebounds. Hupmann grabbed five offensive boards to help Wabash tally 12 second-chance points. The 7-foot, 2-inch center also blocked four shots as part of a seven-block effort by the Little Giants' defense.
 
Trent Jakacki led Hiram with 12 points. Mitchell Wichecki and James Moore each scored 10 points.
 
Wabash is off until Saturday, January 20, when the Little Giants host the Oberlin College Yeomen.
 
Game Notes
» The Little Giants held the Terriers to only 28.8 percent shooting from the field.
» The Wabash bench scored 52 points.
» Wabash had a 52-32 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Wabash defense forced 13 turnovers.
» The Little Giants were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, recording seven blocks as a team. Noah Hupmann rejected four shots to pace the team.
» Wabash cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 15 offensive boards in the game.
» Wabash got seven rebounds from both Ahmoni Jones and Noah Hupmann.