Junior center Noah Hupmann rejected five shots Saturday and scored a monstrous put-back dunk with less than a minute remaining in Saturday's North Coast Athletic Conference basketball game between Wabash and Oberlin at Chadwick Court. The Little Giants claimed a 69-62 home win to move into a four-way tie for second place in the latest NCAC standings.
 
Wabash (10-8, 6-3 NCAC) shares second place in the league standings with DePauw, Denison, and Wooster. The three teams trail conference leader Wittenberg with a 7-2 NCAC record.
 
Hupmann recorded a career-high five blocked shots as part of seven blocks by the Little Giants overall. The seven-foot, two-inch post player scored four points and grabbed seven rebounds. He snared a missed Wabash and dunked the rebound to put the Little Giants in front by eight points at 63-55 after Oberlin (9-9, 3-6 NCAC) trimmed the lead to six points 30 seconds earlier. The visiting Yeomen got a three-pointer from Will Bousquette III following the Hupmann slam to draw within five points. Vinny Buccilla took the ensuing inbound pass and raced the length of the floor for a game-sealing layup to stretch the lead to seven points with 22 seconds left to play. Josh Whack and Avery Beaver made four free throws in the final 17 seconds to secure the seven-point victory.
 
Wabash led most of the game despite being outscored 18-5 at the free throw line. The Little Giants only attempted five free throws in the first 39 minutes of the game before going 4-for-4 in the final 17 seconds of the contest from the stripe. Oberlin made 18 of 22 free attempts to offset a 35.6 percent (21-of-59) shooting percentage from the field. Wabash finished 28 of 57 from the field for 49.1 percent. The Little Giants also made 8 of 25 three-point shots for 32 percent while limiting Oberlin to two made long-range shots on 15 total attempts for 13.3 percent.
 
Hupmann led Wabash with seven rebounds as the Little Giants were out-rebounded by Oberlin 39-33. Sam Come led Wabash with 16 points. Ahmoni Jones moved to 14^th on the Wabash career scoring list by adding 14 points to his career totals. Jones has 1,360 career points in 107 games, passing former teammate Tyler Watson, who scored 1,356 career points.
 
JJ Gray paced Oberlin with 16 points. Milun Micanovic scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds for the Yeomen.
 
Wabash travels to DePauw on Wednesday, January 24, for an 8 p.m. contest.

Game Notes
» Wabash found success from beyond the arc, knocking down eight treys in the game.
» The Little Giants held the Yeomen to only 35.6 percent shooting from the field.
» Wabash never trailed on the way to a 69-62 victory.
» Wabash had a great day defensively, holding Oberlin to 13 percent from beyond the arc on 15 attempts.
» The Wabash bench made an impact by scoring 23 points to its scoring output.
» The Little Giants were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, recording seven blocks as a team.
» Sam Comer led the Little Giants with 16 points.
» Wabash got a team-high seven rebounds from Noah Hupmann.