LEXINGTON, Kentucky --- Wabash outscored Transylvania 19-3 over the final five minutes of Sunday's championship game of the 2024 Don Lane Classic to defeat the host Pioneers 63-58 and bring home the tournament trophy. Senior guard Vinny Buccilla was named the Don Lane Player of the Game for the second consecutive game.
 
Wabash improves to 6-4 overall and extends its winning streak to five games with the victory. Transylvania is also 6-4 on the season. The two teams meet to close out the 2024 portion of the season on December 30 at Chadwick Court.
 
The Little Giants need another close-out run for the second consecutive game to capture the tournament title. Saturday, Wabash limited Albion to three points over the final 7-1/2 minutes of Saturday's game to earn a 73-51 victory and advance to Sunday's title contest. The Little Giants trailed Transylvania 55-44 with 4:54 remaining in the game before riding a 19-3 run to the five-point win.
 
Sophomore Keegan Manowitz started the run with a jumper to draw Wabash to within nine. A free throw by the Pioneers pushed the lead back to double digits, 56-46, before free throws from Buccilla and Nate Matelic brought the Little Giants to within six points. Matelic added two more free throws with 2:57 on the game clock, then Gavin Schippert connected on one of only four three-point baskets for Wabash in the game to trim the lead to one point at 56-55 with two minutes remaining.
 
Transylvania missed a shot on the next trip down the floor. Noah Hupmann, who tied the Wabash single-game record for blocked shots by rejecting nine Transylvania attempts, snared the rebound, and Buccilla drove for his 17^th point of the game to give Wabash a one-point advantage, 57-56, with 1:30 left to play.
 
The Pioneers got two shots away on their next offensive possession but came up empty. Manowitz was fouled at the other end and hit both free throws to push the Wabash advantage to three with 33 seconds on the game clock. Ian Ressor scored two of his team-high 17 points to bring Transylvania back to within a point at 59-58. Buccilla hit three of his final four free throw attempts, and Robert Sorensen added a final free throw in the final four seconds to secure the five-point victory.
 
Buccilla shook off a tough day from three point range by going 6-of-18 overall from the field despite missing all six three-point tries. He finished 8-of-11 from the free throw stripe for a game-high 20 points to secure Player of the Game honors for the second day in a row. He also gave out five assists, grabbed five rebounds, and added one steal.
 
Wabash owned a 28-24 halftime lead by forcing Transylvania to commit ten turnovers that led to nine points for the Little Giants in the first 20 minutes of the game. The Pioneers finished with 16 turnovers and Wabash scored 14 points off those miscues. The Little Giants made ten turnovers overall and gave out 11 assists.
 
Transylvania used a 12-3 scoring run in the early portion of the second half to erase the Wabash halftime lead and take a 41-33 advantage with 12:26 remaining in the game. The Little Giants got as close as six points before the Pioneers extended their edge to 11 with 4:54 left to play before Wabash's final run.
 
The Little Giants shot 21-of-57 overall for 36.8 percent but made just 4-of-25 three-point attempts (16 percent). Wabash finished 17-of-21 from the free throw line. Transylvania was 22-of-62 from the field (35.5 percent) and 7-of-22 from beyond the arc (31.8 percent). The Pioneers only made 7-of-13 free throws in the game (53.8 percent).
 
Hupmann matched the school record of nine blocked shots set by Wabash Athletics Hall of Famer Chris Whitfield against North Central College on December 28, 1987. The 7-foot, 2-inch senior scored six points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Schippert and Rich Brooks each scored eight points for Wabash in the victory.