Wabash ended a two-year losing streak at Philips Gymnasium with a 72-69 win at Oberlin University on Saturday.
The Little Giants had to battle back from a 10-point halftime deficit to earn their eighth win of the season and sixth North Coast Athletic Conference game of the season.
After trailing early, an Adonis Joseph (Mishawaka, IN/Mishawaka) nailed a three-pointer to give Wabash a 9-7 lead with 15:38 left in the first half. It would be the only lead for the Little Giants in the opening period. The Yeomen shot 50-percent from the field, including 45.5-percent from behind the arc, to take a 42-32 lead at the break.
Wabash fell behind by 11 before starting its run that would finish with the Little Giants outscoring Oberlin 40-27 in the second half. Three consecutive baskets by sophomore center Kyle Coffey (Greenwood, IN/Center Grove) cut the Yeomen’s lead to seven. Wabash traded baskets with Oberlin over the next five minutes before going on an 8-1 run that was capped by an Alex Rinks (Indianapolis, IN/Beech Grove) backdoor layup to tie the game at 61-61. Another layup by Rinks just one minute later put Wabash in front for the first time since early in the first half. This time the Little Giants would not let the Yeomen come back to tie the game, holding on in the final seconds after Oberlin’s Cameron Leverett launched a desperation three just before the buzzer for the win.
Senior Matt Storm (Anderson, IN/Lapel) paced the Wabash effort with a season-best 20 points. Coffey tallied his first career double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He also had three blocked shots for the Little Giants. Joseph had 13 points in the win for Wabash.
The Little Giants move to 8-11 with the win, 6-4 in the NCAC. Wabash travels to first place Wittenberg on Wednesday night.