Wabash saw a five-point halftime lead slip away in the second half on the way to a 70-63 loss to Bethany College of Kansas in Friday's opening round of the CC/Clarion Hotels Thanksgiving Tournament at Colorado College.
The Little Giants held a three-point lead with 12 minutes left in the first half before Bethany made its first run. The Swedes rallied for an 8-0 run that ended with a Ryan Stephens (JR/Zionsville, IN/Zionsville) jumper at the eight-minute mark. A layup and free throw by sophomore Gary Simkus (Highland, IN/Highland) tied the score at 15-15.
After trading baskets, Wabash started a 10- run of its own. Adonis Joseph (SR/Mishawaka, IN/Mishawaka) scored a fast break layup off a steal by senior Kyle Medeiros (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis). Another steal by the Little Giants led to a three-pointer by Medeiros, followed by a jumper by Kyle Coffey (SR/Greenwood, IN/Center Grove) and a trey by Michael Woods (SR/Indianapolis, IN/Cathedral). Bethany would cut the Little Giants' lead to five before the end of the period.
Basketbal by Medeiros and Caleb Lyttle (SR/Sullivan, IN/Sullivan) at the start of the second period helped to push the Little Giants' advantage to as many as 14 points in the first seven minutes of the second half. With Wabash leading 49-35, the Swedes began their push. Over the next eight minutes Bethany would outscore Wabash 20-6, eventually tying the game on free throws by Ben Zuker with five minutes left in the contest.
With the score tied at 55-55, Bethany continued its offensive push while keeping the Little Giants in check. A layup by Zuker with 4:21 left in the game gave the Swedes their first lead since the 7:13 mark of the first half. Zuker scored again before Woods ended the the drought with a layup with 3:24 remaining in the game. Coffey added two free throws a few seconds later to tie the game at 59-59.
Bethany took a one-point lead on a free throw by Daniel Sherman, but Wabash answered with a Coffey layup to move in front by a point with 2:05 on the clock. Zuker took over once again, scoring four straight points to put the Swedes in front by three. Bethany would hit six free throw attempts in the final 25 seconds with only a basket by Joseph to answer by Wabash on the way to the seven-point defeat.
Wabash was 23-of-60 for the game, while Bethany finished 21-of-51. Joseph had 12 points to lead all Wabash scorers. Woods and Lyttle each added 11 points. Sherman paced the Swedes with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while Zuker added 16.
Wabash (1-3) will play the loser of the Colorado College vs. Philadelphia Biblical College in the consolation game Saturday evening.