The Little Giants shot 70-percent from the field, hitting 30 of 43 shots in the game while holding the Lions to 47-percent. Wabash added an 18-25 performance from the free throw line to preserve the win.
"I told our players that this season can be divided into three parts," said coach Mac Petty. "The eight games before the holiday break made the first part of the season. The next five games during the holiday break will make the second part of the season. Right now we are 1-0 in the second part of the season."
Ryan Short (Indianapolis, IN/Perry Meridian) had to face the Lion's leading scorer, James Curren. The sophomore center responded to the challenge by holding Curren to six points, eight points under his season average, while exploding on the offensive end of the floor. Short finished the game with 20 points, setting a career high in points. The Perry Meridian High School connection was in high gear on Friday night, as Joe DesJean (Indianapolis, IN/Perry Meridian) tallied the third double-double of his career, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds. DesJean also tied a career-high in blocked shots with six.
As well as the Little Giants were shooting, they trailed by five points with 2:24 remaining in the first half. Wabash went on an 8-0 run to finish the first half and opened the second half with a 6-0 run in the first 3:34 to take a 46-39 lead. DesJean and Brady Claxton (Shelbyville, IN/Shelbyville) led the Little Giants with 11 points each in the first half.
Penn State Behrend cut the lead back to four on two different occasions in the second half before layups by Short and DesJean put the Little Giants up by eight, then Pleas Ferguson (Indianapolis, IN/Arsenal Tech) put the finishing touches on the game with two free throws and a big slam dunk in the final two minutes. Ferguson finished with 17 points, while Claxton added 13.
"Claxton and DesJean carried us offensively in the first half," said Petty. "Ferguson and Short took us home in the second half. When we executed on offense, it helped us play better defense. We allowed Penn State Behrend to stay in the game by taking a few bad shots, but more so by making too many turnovers. We didn't handle their defensive presure well everytime. We still have room to play better. But we did a very good job on Curren. We got good defensive help and forced him to play at both ends of the floor, not just concentrate on scoring."
Wabash will face Elmhurst College, the tournament host, in Saturday's championship game.