Wabash rallied to erase a 12-point first-half deficit to hold a six-point lead in the final four minutes of regulation in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. The Little Giants could not hold off the 25^th-ranked Kohawks, who forced overtime to defeat Wabash 79-74 in the extra period.
 
Wabash ended the season with a 20-9 record while earning its third North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament title for a third-straight trip to the NCAA tourney. The Little Giants nearly pulled off the upset at the MTI Center on the Trine University against the national-ranked Kohawks to advance to Saturday's second round.
 
The Little Giants held an early 4-2 lead on baskets by Ahmoni Jones and Vinny Buccilla, but Coe (22-5) answered with a 6-0 run. Wabash stayed with four points at 16-12 with 13:22 left in the opening half before the Kohawks used a 5-0 run to stretch the lead to nine points. Sam Comer scored back-to-back baskets to trim the lead to five points at 21-16 with 8:32 left in the half. The Kohawks doubled Wabash's scoring output over the next six minutes to move in front by 12 points at 35-23. Wabash cut the advantage to seven points, with Jones accounting for four points in the final 96 seconds, including a pull-up jumper with six seconds remaining in the half to provide the 39-32 deficit at the break.
 
Coe regained a nine-point lead to open the second half, leading 49-40 with 14 minutes left in regulation. That's when Buccilla took over the scoring for the Little Giants. The junior, who finished the first half with only two points, hit a pull-up jumper to bring Wabash to within seven points. Comer added another basket off a driving pass from Buccilla, and then Noah Hupmann put home a dunk to force Coe to call a timeout with 12 minutes remaining in the half with the lead reduced to three points at 49-46.
 
The timeout provided the break the Kohawks needed. Coe regained a seven-point lead with 8:54 on the clock, but Buccilla struck once again. Another drive by the junior netted two more points before Jones converted a turnover into a two-point basket and a free throw on a three-point play. Buccilla made another driving layup with seven minutes left in the half to tie the score at 54-54. Jones scored two more free throws 30 seconds later to provide the Little Giants a two-point lead. Buccilla stretched that advantage to four points with another drive to the basket. Gavin Schippert added two points on the next trip down the floor for Wabash to provide a six-point edge at 60-54 with 4:18 on the second-half clock.
 
The Kohawks answered with a 7-2 run to draw within one point with 3:14 on the clock. The Little Giants moved back in front for the final time on Buccilla's 17^th point of the game, but two free throws from Cooper Nailor with 20 seconds left in regulation tied the score at 68-68, forcing an extra five minutes to decide which team would move on to Saturday's second round.
 
Coe scored the first points of overtime on a layup by Nailor. Jones answered with a putback basket for Wabash on one of the game's 18 offensive rebounds by the Little Giants. TJ Schnurr gave Coe its final lead of the game by making one of two free-throw attempts before Bennett Sherry put the Kohawks up three points on a putback hoop for a 73-70 lead. Buccilla struck again with a driving layup to cut the lead to one point, but it was as close as the Little Giants would get in the final minutes of overtime. Sherry and Nailor hit four free throws in the final minute of the overtime session to secure the 79-74 victory.
 
Wabash struggled early with its shooting effort, making only 13-of-38 shots for 34.2 percent in the first 20 minutes. The Little Giants only made three of their 11 three-point field goals in the first 20 minutes but could only connect on one three-point try in ten attempts in the second half. Coe shot 28 of 67 from the field (41.8 percent), making only five of 20 three-point tries. Wabash outrebounded the Kohawks 48-42 and grabbed 18 offensive boards but converted the extra opportunities into only 12 second-chance points.
 
Jones led Wabash with 20 points and finished his career with 1,525 points to rank eighth all-time on the Little Giants' scoring list. He added seven rebounds to end his career in fifth place on the all-time rebounds list with 684 boards. Jones ended his career with 182 made three-point field goals to rank fourth in Wabash history. Buccilla finished with 19 points. Senior Avery Beaver ended his career with a 13-point effort. The senior finished ninth in Wabash history with 125 made three-point baskets. Comer finished his career with a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Hupmann led the LIttle Giants with a career-best 12 boards. 
 
Jones, Comer, Beaver, Edreece Redmond, and Champ McCorkle completed their Wabash careers with three NCAC Tournament championships, three NCAA Tournament appearances, and two NCAC regular season titles. The five seniors combined for 69 victories over the past three seasons, with 20 or more wins each year.