Wabash committed only eight turnovers against the 11th-ranked College of Wooster Fighting Scots on Saturday afternoon, but shot only 18-percent from the three-point arc and 33-percent from the free throw line in a 71-50 loss in NCAC play.
The Little Giants connected on only three out of 17 shots from behind the arc and three out nine free throws in the game. Wabash had 12 assists compared to eight turnovers, and forced the Scots into 12 turnovers. But Wooster shot 48-percent from the field and 33-percent from the three-point arc to earn its 14th win of the season.
Wabash took an early 3-2 lead, only to see the Scots go on a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to move in front 11-3. The Little Giants cut the advantage to five points on a three-point play by Kyle Coffey (Greenwood, IN/Center Grove) before Wooster pushed it back to 12 with another run. The Little Giants trailed by as many as 15 before a Matt Shook (Kendallville, IN/East Noble) jumper made it a 33-23 contest with just under a minute to go in the first period. But a put-back basket by Ryan Snyder with five seconds left in the half gave the Scots a 35-23 halftime lead.
The Little Giants connected on just one of their eight three-point shots in the opening period. The second period would not yield any better results. Wabash would only hit 2-of-9 from behind the arc in the final 20 minutes and only one out of six free throws. The Scots took advantage of the cold shooting by the visitors, increasing their lead to 21 points in the first four minutes of the second half. The Little Giants would get to within 14 points 15:07 left in the game, but would draw no closer.
Senior Zeljko Gavranovic (Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina/St. Mary’s, AZ) led the Little Giants with 14 points and seven rebounds. Coffey added seven points.
The Little Giants fall to 7-10 overall, 5-3 in the NCAC. Wabash returns to Chadwick Court on Wednesday, January 28 for a conference matchup against Ohio Wesleyan at 7:30 p.m.