Senior Andrew Zimmer went from a goose egg in the scoring column to a game-high 15 points in the final ten minutes of Saturday night’s North Coast Athletic Conference basketball game against Denison. The Little Giants won their fourth consecutive game with a 66-47 victory at Chadwick Court.
Zimmer’s first points came with 9:21 left in the contest to give Wabash 44-40 lead. He helped the Little Giants outscore Denison 28-8 over the last 14 minutes of the contest to move to 12-5 overall and 6-2 in the NCAC. (View photos from the Little Giants' victory.)
The Little Giants jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first two minutes before the Big Red eventually tied the game at 7-7. Wabash took several good shots but struggled to finish, connecting on just 12-of-29 attempts in the first half. Wes Smith and Chase Haltom paced the Wabash effort in the first half, giving the Little Giants a four-point halftime edge. Smith led the team with nine points in the first 20 minutes, while Haltom added eight.
Smith scored the first basket of the second half to give Wabash a 32-26 lead. The Big Red refused to go down without a fight, scoring the next five points to draw within one. Denison stayed even with the Little Giants until Chris Eberst’s three-pointer at 14:34 gave the Big Red their first lead of the game at 39-37. Two free throws by Gary Simkus on the next offensive trip down the floor put Wabash back in front and started the final offensive surge.
While Zimmer took over during that final stretch on the offensive end, the Little Giants used pressure defense to keep Denison off the scoreboard. The Big Red managed only one basket over the final 8:37 while committing six turnovers.
Simkus finished with 14 points for Wabash. Aaron Brock continued to play well, scoring 12 points while leading the Little Giants with nine rebounds. Smith tossed in 11 points, while Haltom just missed reaching double-figures by tallying eight points.
Cale McFerren led Denison (0-17, 0-8 NCAC) with 11 points. Eberst scored 10 points.
The Little Giants face off against the Wittenberg Tigers Wednesday evening at Chadwick Court at 7:30 p.m.
Photos - (top right) Andrew Zimmer caught fire late in the game, scoring all 15 of his game-high points in the final ten minutes against Denison.
(Bottom right) Wes Smith throws down this dunk for two of his 11 points in the Wabash win.