A freshman’s career-best effort wasn’t enough to spoil a senior nigh celebration in Springfield, Ohio.
Wabash rookie guard Wes Smith scored a career-high 23 points, but the Little Giants lost for 13th time since 1974 at Wittenberg in a 69-63 final. The loss, coupled with a 93-82 win by Kenyon at Hiram, dropped Wabash to fifth in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings with one game left in the regular season.
The Little Giants jumped out to a 7-0 lead and had as much as a 10-point advantage with 4:33 left in the first half before a 12-2 run by the Tigers closed out the half. The biggest basket came from Wittenberg’s Brandan Barabino, who drilled a three-pointer to tie the game at 34-34 with two seconds left in the half.
Smith had hit 6-of-9 shots from the field for 12 points in the opening period while holding the Tigers’ leading scorer, Greg Hill, to just two free throws.
After a sluggish start by Wittenberg in the first half, the Tigers took an early three-point lead to open the second period before a trey by Smith knotted the game at 41-41. Another Wabash freshman, Andrew Gilman, answered two free throws by Sam Gregory with a three-point shot to put the Little Giants up 44-43.
The lead went back and forth over the next 12 minutes. Wabash would take a 49-45 edge midway through the final half on a driving layup by Earl Rooks. Wittenberg rallied to move in front by four as Hill began to heat up, scoring 11 points in the second half on the way to a 13-point effort.
Andrew Zimmer tied the game at 61-61 with two minutes left in the game, only to see Hill give the Tigers the lead with a layup at the other end. The Little Giants had a chance to draw even after a Wittenberg foul away from the basketball put Wabash in the bonus. Zimmer missed the front end of the one-and-one, and the ensuing Wittenberg rebound led to a free throw by Mark Snyder for a 64-61 Tiger lead.
The Little Giants fired a three-pointer in an attempt to tie the game with 38 seconds left, but missed . The Tigers converted 5-of-6 free throws in the final 28 seconds as the Little Giants were forced to foul to try and recapture the basketball.
Zimmer finished with 12 points in addition to Smith’s 23. Gary Simkus added eight points.
Wittenberg (16-8, 12-3 NCAC) was led by the 16-point effort of Kevin Murray. Hill and Barabino each scored 13.
Wabash (15-9, 9-6 NCAC) needs a combination of a win Saturday afternoon at Denison and loss by Kenyon against Wittenberg to force a tie in the final conference standings. The Little Giants would then host the first round of the league tournament Tuesday night by virtue of a two-game series win against Earlham. Kenyon split its two games against Earlham.
Tipoff of the Little Giants’ Saturday game at Denison is at 4 p.m..
Photo - Wes Smith (from earlier in the season) scored a career-high 23 points in the Little Giants' loss at Wittenberg Wednesday night.