Wabash’s defense was good enough for a half to keep the ninth-ranked Wittenberg Tigers’ basketball team in check. But the Tigers hit 14-of-22 shots from the field in the second half on the way to 56-48 victory over the Little Giants at Chadwick Court.
Both teams came into Wednesday night’s as the leaders in scoring defense in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Tigers were only allowing 53.5 points a game, while Wabash was keeping the opposition to an average of 62.9 points.
Wabash played 20 solid minutes of defense in the first half, holding Wittenberg to 17 points on an 8-of-20 shooting performance. The Little Giants took advantage early, jumping out to a six-point lead on a three-pointer by Michael Woods (Indianapolis, IN/Cathedral) (left). It would prove to be the largest of the game for Wabash as the Tigers cut it back to two points just two minutes later. Kyle Medeiros (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) boosted Wabash to a 16-11 lead with a trey of his own with 6:32 left in the opening half.
But while the Little Giants were keeping the high-powered Wittenberg offense at bay, the Tigers would not allow Wabash to pull away. Wittenberg once again trimmed the lead to one point before another Woods three-pointer put the Little Giants in front 21-17 at halftime.
Wabash only trailed once in the first half on the first basket of the game. The tone would change in the second half. Twice the Tigers tied the game, then took a two-point lead on a Dane Borchers basket at 16:58. The Little Giants couldn’t find an answer for Borchers in the second half. Wittenberg’s leading scorer coming into the game, he finished with 21 points after scoring 12 in the second half.
The Little Giants would stay close, trailing by three points at the midway point of the second half. Wittenberg would increase that lead to 12 points over the next eight minutes, outscoring Wabash 15-6 during that run. A three by Adonis Joseph (Mishawaka, IN/Mishawaka) cut the lead to nine points, but Wabash would get no closer than seven over the final two minutes, dropping to 10-10 for the season with the loss and 7-4 in conference play.
Joseph and Woods each scored eight points to lead the Little Giants. Five other players each scored six points as eight of the ten Wabash players that took the floor scored in the contest.
Wabash continues its tour through the top-ten Saturday when the Little Giants travel to third-ranked Wooster for a 2 p.m. tipoff.