Career-best efforts from sophomore Adonis Joseph (Mishawaka, IN/Mishawaka) (left) and freshman Matt Shook (Kendallville, IN/East Noble) were not enough to boost Wabash past Marian College in the championship game of the 13th Pete Thorn Invitational. The Knights defeated Wabash 80-74 to claim the title.
Joseph connected on a career-best 7-of-17 from the field, including three treys for 20 total points in 30 minutes of play. Shook came off the bench to join Joseph on the All-Tournament team after scoring a game-high 21 points. The freshman was nearly perfect from the field, hitting on 7-of-8 shots and 5-of-6 three-pointers.
The Little Giants couldn’t overcome the free throw differential in the game. Wabash shot 62-percent from the charity stripe, hitting 10-of-16. But the Knights went 25-of-34 from the free throw line, taking more than twice the number of free throws than the home squad.
Wabash enjoyed a one-point lead at halftime, but saw the Knights jump out to a 12-point lead with five minutes left in the contest, capitalizing on Wabash turnovers and multiple free throw attempts.The Knights hit only four out of nine free throws in the opening period, but were nearly perfect in the second half. Marian was 21-of-25 in the second period.
Marian took a 13-point lead with 2:44 left in the contest when Jeremy Budreau hit one of two free tosses. Shook and Joseph took over on offense for the Little Giants. After two free throws by Kyle Coffey (Greenwood, IN/Center Grove) made it an 11-point game, Shook scored seven of the next ten points for Wabash, broken up only by a Joseph three-pointer to trim the Knights’ lead to four. Coffey drained two more free throws to maked it a two-point game with only 23 seconds left. But four free throws in the final half-minute of the game gave the victories to the Knights, their second Pete Thorn title in three seasons. Marian lost in last year’s championship game to Wabash.
The loss drops Wabash to 3-6 for the season. The Little Giants will take a break from the hardwood until January 2 when the North Coast Athletic Conference portion of the season begins again. The Little Giants will play Allegheny College in a 7:30 p.m. contest at Chadwick Court that night, then follow with a 3 p.m. game against Hiram College on Saturady, January 3.