For the second time this season the Wabash basketball team battled the number one-ranked team in the nation. This time it would be the Wittenberg Tigers in a North Coast Athletic Conference game, with the Tigers prevailing 63-48 in Springfield, Ohio Wednesday night.
Wabash played Illinois Wesleyan University in the second game of the season when the Titans were the top team in the d3hoops.com poll. The Little Giants led at halftime in that contest before losing 79-67. This time the results against the top-ranked team would be slightly different.
The score would indicate an old-fashioned defensive battle, particularly based on both team’s stats coming into the contest. Wabash entered the game ranked 31st in the nation in scoring defense, holding its opponents to 39.8 percent shooting from the field. But with Wittenberg ranked number one in scoring defense (53.2 points per game) and third in the field goal defense (36.2 percent), the low-scoring game would not come as a surprise.
The Little Giants survived an early scoring drought against the Tigers’ defense, scoring only two points through the first five minutes. Wittenberg had no problem finding the basket in the early going, however, pulling ahead 15-2.
Senior guard Adonis Joseph came off the bench to score nine of his 14 points in the first half to pull Wabash as close as nine points with 5:42 left in the period. But the Tigers would move back in front by 13 before the Little Giants took their first trip to the free throw line in over 66 minutes of basketball against Wittenberg when Kyle Medeiros sank two charity tosses with 20 seconds left in the half to cut the lead to 32-21 at the break.
The Tigers opened the second half with a five-point run to go back in front by 16. Wabash would fail to get a shot off on its first three possessions, giving the basketball back to Wittenberg on turnovers. Joseph put the first points on the scoreboard in the second half for the Little Giants with a baseline drive and scoop to trim the lead to 37-23.
The Tigers pushed the lead to 16 before back-to-back baskets by Caleb Lyttle and Gary Simkus, and a three-pointer by Medeiros answered a short Wittenberg run. The Medeiros trey kept the lead at 13. But the Tigers stayed red-hot from the field, connecting on 10-of-23 in the final period to take the 15-point victory.
Joseph and Medeiros each had 14 points to lead the Little Giants in scoring. Wabash was 19-of-50 from the field for 37 percent, but hit only 3-of-15 three-pointers against the top three-point field defense in the NCAC. Wittenberg was 22-of-46 from the field in the game for 47.8 percent.
Wabash heads to Oberlin College Saturday afternoon for a 3:30 p.m. tipoff against the Yeomen in NCAC action.
Photo - Adonis Joseph scores three of his 14 points in the Wabash loss to top-ranked Wittenberg.