Wabash got off to a better start in the second meeting against Franklin, but the Grizzlies converted 25 Little Giant turnovers into 35 points on the way to an 80-68 victory in the championship game of the 31st Goaltenders-Bankers Classic Saturday afternoon.
Less than two weeks ago Wabash fell behind by 18 points in the first half in a loss at Franklin. While the results would be closer the second time around, the mistakes made by the Little Giants still proved to be the difference in the ball game.
The Little Giants took an early 7-1 lead after Andy Root nailed a three-point shot, one of two in the game on just three attempts for the sophomore sharpshooter. Franklin rallied to keep the game close in the early moments of play, however, before taking its first lead of the game at 16-15 on a layup by John Yochum. The Wabash offense disappeared over the next four minutes of the first half, picking up only a free throw by Ryan Stephens while the Grizzlies took a 26-15 edge on the scoreboard. Root would end the scoring drought for the Little Giants, but Franklin match Wabash basket for basket in the final minutes of the period to take a 35-26 at halftime.
Facing a ten-point deficit over the opening minutes of the final period, the Little Giants finally put a dent in the Franklin advantage with the inside attack of junior Andrew Zimmer and the second three-pointer by Root. Zimmer scored on a three-point play to cut the Grizzlies' lead to eight points, then made it a six-point game with a layup after a miss by Franklin. A trey by Root and a put-back basket by Brian Maloney put Wabash down by one at 52-51 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the contest.
But Wabash would never get over the hump in an attempt to take the lead. Holding the game close, the Little Giants trailed 56-55 at the midway point of the final period before watching the Grizzlies jump back in front by eight. Another run by the Little Giants made it a 65-64 contest with an Earl Rooks free throw at the 4:07 mark, but Franklin finished with a 15-4 run to close out the victory.
Root scored a career-best 18 points, picking up two more points than his 16-point effort the previous night to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team. Zimmer joined his teammate as an All-Tournament player, scoring 17 points in the title contest. Four Franklin players scored in double figures, led by Luke Tudor's 15 points. Tournament MVP Jeff Gasser had 10 points coming off the bench for the Grizzlies.
Wabash (4-7) returns to North Coast Athletic Conference action next weekend with a trip to Hiram College on Friday night and the close of a six-game road trip with a Saturday afternoon game at Allegheny College.
Photos - (top left) Andy Root scored a career-best 18 points to lead the Little Giants in Saturday's loss to Franklin.
(bottom right) Andrew Zimmer scored 46 points in two games after tallying 17 points in the championship game of the tournament at Franklin. He scored a career-best 31 points in Friday's first game against Lakeland College.