Wabash outscored Denison 17-7 in a second overtime period Saturday to defeat the Big Red 93-83, securing solo possession of third place in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings.
The win puts the Little Giants (12-11, 9-5 NCAC) one game up over Denison and Ohio Wesleyan. The Battling Bishops defeated Allegheny 83-65 earlier Saturday afternoon.
Wabash jumped out to an 11-point lead at halftime behind 11 points from junior guard Kyle Medeiros (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis), who connected on 5-of-6 shots from the field. He kept his red-hot shooting going in the second half, finishing with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, including 2-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc in the second half and two extra periods.
Despite the first half lead, the Big Red made two scoring runs in the first 13 minutes of the second period, eventually taking a one-point lead on back-to-back three’s by Robb Hern and Pete Harris. Denison pushed its lead to four points before free throws by the Little Giants turned the lead back around.
The Little Giants held a three-point advantage after two Medeiros free throws with 11 seconds remaining in regulation. After a timeout by Denison with eight second remaining, Clint Shepherd found John Wagner outside the arc for trey with two seconds left, tying the game at 70-70.
Wabash took a six-point lead on a Medeiros three just two minutes into the first overtime, but again the Big Red came back. The Little Giants failed to score in the remainder of the period, still leading by two points with 18 seconds remaining in the OT. This Wabash would miss two free throws, giving the ball back to Denison on the rebound. Shephard took care of the heroics himself this time, scoring a layup with four seconds left to force a second overtime.
Free throws by Gary Simkus (Highland, IN/Highland), along with a three by Medeiros and jumper by Andrew Zimmer (Hobart, IN/Hobart) put Wabash in front again. This time the Little Giants would hold Denison to seven points, including three missed shots in the final 1:28 to earn the victory.
The overtime game was the fourth in six trips to Denison for the Little Giants, all extra period wins for Wabash. The last OT game was a 78-76 win by Wabash in 2003.
Three Little Giants joined Medeiros in double-figure scoring. Adonis Joseph (Mishawaka, IN/Mishawaka) had 16 points. Simkus added 14 points, and Zimmer tossed in 10.
Wabash was 31-of-44 from the free throw line, while the Big Red connected on 24-of-38 charity tosses.
The Little Giants travel to Earlham College Wednesday night before concluding the regular season Saturday at Chadwick Court with a 3 p.m. tipoff against Kenyon College.