Wabash junior Kyle Medeiros (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) nailed a jumper in the lane with 3:35 left in the contest gave the Little Giants a one-point lead. Wabash held on for 60-53 victory over Ohio Wesleyan University.
Medeiros gave the Little Giants a 50-49 lead after the Bishops had jumped out to a four-point advantage. Three straight points by junior center Kyle Coffey (Greenwood, IN/Center Grove) pushed the lead to four points before a back-breaking three-pointer by Adonis Joseph (Mishawaka, IN/Mishawaka) (left) put Wabash up 56-51.
The Bishops responded with a layup by Ben Chojnacki to trim the lead to three. Wabash drained four straight free throws in the final 19 seconds, finishing 14-of-16 from the line for the night to even its record at 11-11 for the year while snapping a two-game losing streak.
The Little Giants never trailed in the first half, leading by as many as seven points with two minutes left in the period before OWU scored six straight points to make it a 28-27 contest with just over a minute left. Sophomore Wes Koch (Winchester, IN/Winchester) returned to the Wabash lineup after missing most of the season with a stress facture, scoring layup to put Wabash up by three at the break.
Coffey took over midway through the second period, draining three consecutive jumpers to keep the Little Giants in front by six points. But OWU tied the game at 38-38. Another basket by Koch was answered by the Bishops’ Tyler Reed with a three-pointer for their first lead of the game. Ohio Wesleyan pushed its advantage to four points over the next three minutes before Wabash mounted a final rally. Medeiros hit three free throws when he was fouled on a three-point attempt, making it a one-point contest. Those free throws setup the junior guard for the eventual game-winner.
Medeiros led Wabash with 16 points, going 5-of-7 from the field. Coffey, scoreless in the first half of the game, finished with 13 points. Defensively the Little Giants held Chojnacki in check for the second straight game. The sophomore came into the contest averaging just over 18 points a game, but was held to six points for the second time this year by Wabash. Bryan King led the Bishops with 14 points, while Rudegeair added 13 points.
The Little Giants travel to Denison Saturday afternoon for a 3 p.m. tipoff.
(photo right - Freshman Andrew Zimmer (Hobart, IN/Hobart) grabs one of Wabash's 29 rebounds.)