Wabash turned a five-point halftime lead into a runaway victory Saturday afternoon in a 99-84 win at Oberlin. The victory was the fifth in six games for the Little Giants and avenged a two-point loss at Oberlin last year.
The Little Giants forced 15 turnovers, including six in the second half that lead to 13 points to outscore Oberlin 51 to 41 in the second half. Wabash picked up 24 total points off Yeomen miscues in the game.
While the Little Giants converted several first half turnovers they couldn’t put a stop to the red-hot Oberlin offense. The Yeomen hit 14-of-19 attempts in the opening period, erasing a 16-point lead in the first half by Wabash.
Wes Smith provided the early offense for Wabash. The freshman guard drove the left baseline, slamming the ball through the hoop for the opening basket of the game. Two turnovers by Oberlin led to baskets by Smith and Aaron Brock, putting the Little Giants in front 11-4. Evan Arnold’s three-pointer with 9:10 left in the opening period boosted the Little Giants to an eventual 30-14 lead.
The Yeomen responded, hitting shot after shot to cut the lead to three points with 1:43 left in the half. Three-pointers by Andrew Zimmer and Earl Rooks put Wabash up by seven before Noah Goldman’s layup at 14 seconds sent both teams into halftime with the Little Giants leading 48-43.
Wabash opened the second half with a steal and layup for Zimmer. The basket started a 16-5 run for the Little Giants, giving Wabash a 62-48 lead. Zimmer dominated the second half on the offensive end of the floor, scoring 23 points in the final period for a season-high 31 points.
The Little Giants pushed their advantage to 25 points with 2:25 left before the Yeomen trimmed it by ten in the final minutes.
Smith finished with 16 points, while Gary Simkus added 17. Zimmer also grabbed 11 rebounds, giving him back-to-back double-doubles.
Mike Loll scored 18 to lead the Yeomen (3-12, 2-4 NCAC). Freshman Ryan Magiera added 14 points.
Wabash (10-5, 4-2 NCAC) travels to Richmond, Indiana Wednesday night to play Earlham.