Wabash saw a 16-point second half lead vanish before hitting six free throws in the final minutes of play to claim an 87-84 victory in the quarterfinals of the North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament.
Wabash claimed a spot in conference semifinals for the sixth time in the last seven years, missing a chance last season after losing at home to Earlham in the first round of the tourney.
The path back to the semifinals this year was a difficult one. The Gators took an early five-point lead on a layup by Ryan Hollihan before back-to-back baskets by Andrew Zimmer brought the Little Giants to within a point. The junior forward scored twice more on consecutive offensive trips to give Wabash a 13-12 lead.
The Little Giants would eventually move in front by 11 points, holding that edge at halftime despite both Zimmer and Earl Rooks each picking up three fouls. Brian Maloney helped balance the scoring in the first half for Wabash, coming off the bench to score six points and grab eight big rebounds in the opening period to keep the Little Giants in the lead.
Wabash got off to a good start in the second half when Andy Root drilled a three-pointer and Aaron Brock hit two free throws to put the Little Giants in front 48-32. But Rooks and Zimmer both picked up their fourth personals during a stretch where Wabash was called for six quick fouls. With the two juniors on the bench in foul trouble, freshmen Brock and Chase Haltom took the scoring role on their shoulders. Brock scored 11 of his 20 points in the final period, including a big three-pointer. Haltom also hit three trey's against the second-best three-point shooting defense in the conference, helping the Little Giants hit 6-of-11 beyond the arc for 54.5 percent.
But while the freshmen tried to keep the Little Giant lead in tact, the Gators came roaring back. Allegheny went on a 16-3 run over a four-minute stretch in the final period to cut the Wabash lead to three points. Brock continued to score to push the advantage back to 11 points with nine minutes remaining in the contest, but the Gators answered with a free throw, a three-pointer and a layup by Jimmy Savage to draw the score to 68-66. Casey McCloskey followed with a jumper after a miss by Wabash to tie the game at 68-68.
After senior Ryan Stephens scored to put Wabash back in front by two, McCloskey brought the loud Allegheny crowd to its feet with a three-pointer to put the Gators in front for the first time since the five-minute mark of the first half. Zimmer returned to the game to score two more baskets before Rooks made a hard drive through the lane for a layup to put the Little Giants in front by five.
Savage answered with another three to trim the lead to two points with 22 seconds left after Rooks answered a layup by George Raftis with two free throws. Haltom hit two more free throws in the closing seconds to give Wabash an 85-81 lead with eight seconds left.
McCloskey would get a chance to bring the Gators closer when a foul whistled against Haltom with four seconds left gave Allegheny three free throws. McCloskey hit all three to make it a one-point game. But the Gators fouled Zimmer on the inbound pass. He hit both tosses to secure the three-point victory for the Little Giants.
Wabash lost at Allegheny earlier this season without Zimmer and Stephens. The history of close games with the Gators continued, despite a 21-point effort by Zimmer. Haltom added 17, while Root finished with 11. Bill Babe and Savage each had 16 points to lead six Allegheny players in double figures.
Wabash will play Wooster in the second game on Friday night. Wittenberg and Ohio Wesleyan will meet in the other semifinal contest.
Photos - (top right) Andrew Zimmer led the Little Giants with 21 points.
(middle left) Earl Rooks scored six points, including two key free throws in the final minute.
(bottom right) Aaron Brock scored a career-high 20 points in January against the Gators. He equalled that total again against Allegheny in the Little Giants' tournament win.
All photos courtesy of Allegheny Sports Information.