OBERLIN, Ohio — Wabash trimmed a 15-point deficit to three in the final minute but could not complete the comeback Saturday afternoon, falling 65-60 to Oberlin in the North Coast Athletic Conference regular-season finale at Philips Gymnasium.
 
Wabash (15-10, 9-7 NCAC) earns the fifth seed in next week's NCAC Men's Basketball Tournament and will travel to fourth-seeded Wittenberg for a 7 p.m. quarterfinal Tuesday. The Little Giants dropped both regular-season meetings with the Tigers — a 73-65 loss in Springfield in late January and a 64-63 home setback Wednesday. Saturday's victory puts Oberlin (13-12, 6-10 NCAC) into the conference tournament as the six seed. 
 
Wabash opened sharply, taking an early 12-4 lead behind a barrage from deep. Rich Brooks knocked down a 3-pointer at 19:08, Colton Stowers buried a second-chance triple at 16:36, and Keegan Manowitz connected twice from beyond the arc — including a 3 at 13:55 that pushed the margin to eight, the Little Giants' largest lead of the afternoon.
 
Oberlin answered with a decisive first-half surge. Tied at 14-14 after Rob Magner's free throw at 12:02, the Yeomen used back-to-back 3-pointers by Zach Smith — including a triple at 10:42 off a turnover — to ignite a 12-3 run that flipped the score to 26-17. Augustus Donohue added a 3-pointer at 8:06, and J.J. Gray drilled a second-chance 3 at 6:21 to stretch the margin to 28-17.
 
Oberlin extended its lead to 32-17 on Magner's free throw at 4:24, capping a 15-5 stretch. Wabash responded with a late 10-0 burst over the final 3:05 of the half. Deric Cannady sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around Brooks' two free throws and Gavin Schippert's second-chance layup with 55 seconds left, trimming the deficit to 34-29 at the break.
 
Oberlin scored the first bucket of the second half on a turnover layup by Milun Micanovic, but Wabash steadily chipped away. Manowitz's 3-pointer at 15:38 cut the margin to three at 38-35. After Smith answered with a 3 to make it 41-35, Schippert and Josh Whack combined inside, and Nate Matelic's transition 3-pointer at 10:38 sliced the deficit to 44-42.
 
Manowitz drained another 3-pointer at 9:39 to pull Wabash within one at 46-45, but the Yeomen responded again. Gray scored in the lane, then buried a 3-pointer at 3:39 to push the advantage to 62-53.
 
The Little Giants mounted one final rally. Brooks converted a three-point play at 4:02, Stowers scored in the paint at 2:41, and Whack made two free throws with 1:02 left to cut the margin to 62-57. Stowers knocked down a 3-pointer with 47 seconds remaining to pull Wabash within 63-60, but Smith sealed the outcome with two free throws with 18 seconds left.
 
Brooks led Wabash with 13 points, including two 3-pointers, while Manowitz added 12 on four made 3s. Stowers finished with 10 points, and Schippert recorded nine points and a team-high 14 rebounds.
 
Smith paced Oberlin with 21 points, connecting on 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and 6-of-6 at the foul line. Gray added 15 points, and Donohue contributed eight off the bench as the Yeomen held a 37-9 advantage in bench scoring.
 
The Little Giants shot 36.8 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from 3-point range, finishing 7-of-9 at the free-throw line, while Oberlin converted 43.1 percent overall, 37.0 percent from long distance, and 11-of-16 at the stripe.
 
The game featured just one tie and one lead change, with Wabash holding the advantage for 7:06 compared to 30:42 for Oberlin.
 
Despite matching the Yeomen with 20 points in the paint, Wabash was outscored 10-5 on second-chance opportunities and 6-3 in fast-break points.
 
The loss sends the Little Giants into tournament play as the fifth seed, setting up a third meeting this season with Wittenberg on Tuesday night.