With leading scorer Andrew Zimmer still missing from the lineup, sophomore guard Andy Root stepped up to fill the scoring void with a near-perfect afternoon from the field. But his career-best 27 points were not enough in an 83-80 loss at Hiram College Sunday afternoon.
Root was 9-of-11 from the field, with all of his baskets coming from behind the three-point arc where he was a perfect 9-of-9. His nine three-pointers tied the Wabash single game record and set a school record for three-point shooting percentage.
For the second consecutive day the Little Giants would see a first half lead dissolve into an eventual loss. Wabash ledd by as many as 12 points in the opening period, moving ahead of the Terriers 33-21 with six minutes remaining in the half after a three by Root and a jumper in the lane by Collin Smith. The Little Giants would survive a late run in the period by Hiram to hold a 41-35 lead at halftime.
Wabash remained in front by as many as nine points in the early minutes of the final half before Hiram's Brandon Pool and Mike Staley began cutting into the Little Giants' lead. The pair combined for 10 points over a two minute portion of the game while the Terriers held Wabash scoreless. The run transferred the lead from Wabash to Hiram, where it would stay until Root canned another three-pointer with 7:43 left in the contest to put Wabash back in front 67-66.
The Little Giants held the lead at one point on a layup by Brian Maloney at the six minute mark before Hiram managed one final scoring run. The Terriers started with a basket from Staley to begin a 10-2 run over the next 2-1/2 minutes to move in front by seven. Wabash would cut the lead to three on a layup by Aaron Brock with two minutes left in the game, but a layup by Ian Pfouts with 27 seconds left after a series of missed three-point attempts by Wabash put Hiram back in front by five.
The Terriers extended their lead on free throws in the final seconds before a three-pointer by Kyle Schroering and jumper by Smith just ahead of the buzzer brought the game to an end.
Brock added 16 points despite suffering a cut to his head that required a trip to a local hospital after the game for stitches. Smith tossed in a career-best 13 points coming off the bench.
Wabash hit 30-of-63 shots from the field, including 14-of-29 from three-point range. Hiram connected on 29-of-54 shots from the field, but outscored the Little Giants by 12 points at the free throw line. Hiram was 18-of-21 from the stripe, while the Little Giants hit 6-of-8.
The loss to the Terriers is the first by Wabash since the Little Giants joined the North Coast Athletic Conference in 1999.
The Little Giants (4-9, 1-3 NCAC) return to Chadwick Court Wednesday night for a 7:30 p.m. conference game against Ohio Wesleyan.