CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN – Wabash attempted to rally multiple times with a 21-point performance from their bench, but the Little Giants ended up falling short 68-82 to the Franklin Grizzlies to go to 1-3 on the 2024-2025 campaign.
 
Wabash (1-3) had three players score in double figures, led by Gavin Schippert, who had 19 points by going 8 of 10 from the field. Noah Hupmann added 10 points, eight rebounds, and five blocks, while Randy Kelley helped with 10 points off the bench.
 
Turnovers proved costly for Wabash. The Little Giants gave the ball away 17 times, which led to 32 points for Franklin (2-1). The Grizzlies also outscored Wabash 12-0 in fast-break opportunities.
 
The Little Giants kept the game relatively tight through the first seven and a half minutes of the contest, but the Grizzlies went on a 7-0 scoring run over the following two minutes to give themselves their first double-digit lead of the game.  Franklin increased its lead to 16 points with 5:01 left in the first half before Wabash went on an 11-4 run to close out the half and bring the difference to nine points.
 
Franklin kept widening its lead after the halftime break, constructing a 77-57 advantage before Wabash went on a 7-0 run, finished off by Josh Whack's jumper, to shrink the deficit to 77-64 with 2:25 to go in the contest. Franklin responded and outscored the Little Giants the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 82-68. Wabash took care of business in the paint, recording 24 of its 34 points in the lane.
 
The Grizzlies excelled from the field in the game as they went 30/55 (54.5%) from the field and 12/23 (52.2%) from beyond the arc.  The Little Giants kept pace with Franklin by going 27/52 (51.9%) from the field, but they fell short in their shooting from three-point land by going 6/20 (30%) for the contest.
 
Braden Flanagan paced the Grizzlies with 17 points.  Cody Samples added 16 points.  Jessie Morgan III and Cooper Matthews rounded out the double-digit scorers for Franklin with 15 points each.  Lynn King grabbed a team-best nine rebounds.
 
Wabash hits the road for the second time this season on Monday, November 25, as it heads to Terre Haute, Indiana, to take on the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Fighting Engineers at 7:00 P.M. EST.
 
Game Notes
» The Wabash bench scored 21 points in the loss.
» Wabash cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 13 offensive boards in the game to score 13 second-chance points.
» Gavin Schippert led the Little Giants with a game-high 19 points.
» Wabash got a team-high eight rebounds from Noah Hupmann.