A 13-point first half effort by Kyle Medeiros, along with 11 points each from Andrew Zimmer and Gary Simkus led the Wabash basketball team to a 76-52 win over Hiram College in North Coast Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon at Chadwick Court. The win was the ninth in a row for the Little Giants and seventh consecutive home victory.
Hiram took a 2-0 lead before the Little Giants took away any doubt of a ninth straight victory celebration with a 12-0 run for the only lead change of the game. Medeiros scored back-to-back three pointers to put Wabash up 20-8 with 12:15 left in the opening period, eventually taking an 18-point edge on a Medeiros jumper.
Leading 36-18 at the halftime break, the Little Giants forged ahead to a 24-point advantage before a three-point basket barrage by AJ White and Rick Baldwin trimmed the lead to 13. Wabash responded with baskets from Brian Maloney and Simkus to race back in front by 21 midway through the final period, eventually leading by as a many as 31 points.
Caleb Lyttle added eight points and eight rebounds. Ryan Stephens followed his first career double from Friday night with a six-point, seven-rebound effort. Thirteen of the 15 Wabash players that entered the game scored in the victory.
The win puts Wabash at 10-3 for the season, the best start since the Little Giants opened the 1999-2000 season with an 11-3 record. The nine-game winning streak is the longest since a 10-game stretch during the 1996-97 season.
Wabash remains undefeated in NCAC play, but will face co-leaders Ohio Wesleyan University and the College of Wooster this week. The Little Giants travel to OWU Wednesday evening for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff before returning to Chadwick Court next Saturday to face the number-three ranked Scots at 2 p.m.