Senior Nate Bell (Ft. Wayne, IN/Concordia Lutheran) was one of five Wabash basketball players to score in double figures Friday night in the Little Giants' 72-68 win over Robert Morris College (Springfield) in the opening game of the 2004 Little Giant Tipoff Classic at Chadwick Court.
Bell recorded his first career double-double, finishing with career highs in points (15) and rebounds (13). He dominated the offensive glass, pulling down five of Wabash's 26 offensive boards. The Little Giants scored an impressive 22 second-chance points, including 16 in the second half.
Junior guard Adonis Joseph (Mishawaka, IN/Mishawaka) had 12 points. Junior Caleb Lyttle (Sullivan, IN/Sullivan) added 11. David Wagner (SR/Belleville, IL/Belleville) and Kyle Medeiros (JR/Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) each tossed in 10 points. Sophomore Matt Shook (Kendallville, IN/East Noble) was the only starter not to reach double figures in scoring, but the 6-3 guard pulled down 10 rebounds, inclduing four on the offensive end to add to his six-point effort.
Wabash raced out to an 11-4 lead in the first six minutes of the game, eventually taking a 32-21 lead on a layup by Shook with just over five minutes left in the first half. But a 13-0 run by the Eagles put Robert Morris up by one with 1:30 showing on the first period clock. A jumper by Medeiros ended the Little Giants' scoring drought, but the Eagles' Tyler Morretto drilled a runner from the left side of the floor ahead of the halftime horn to give Robert Morris a 35-34 edge at the break.
Wabash jumped back in front by four points in the early going of the final period. The lead was pushed to 12 points when Bell canned a putback basket with 6:50 left to make it a 60-48 contest. But the Eagles made another run, this time trimming the Wabash advantage to three points with 1:49 left. Bell hit a a layup with 1:18 remaining to push the lead to five before free throws down the stretch gave the Little Giants a four-point victory.
Wabash shot 32 percent from the field (23-71), including 5-17 from behind the arc. The Little Giants finished the game 21-34 from the free throw line, and were even in the assist-to-turnover column with 12 each.
The Little Giants (1-0) play Goshen College (7-1), a 76-67 winner over Simpson College in games two Friday night, in the championship game of the Classic Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. Robert Morris plays Simpson College in the consolation game at 2 p.m.