The Little Giants continued to be pounded on the offensive glass as the Quakers had 17 rebounds, four more than their 13 defensive boards. Earlham took advantage, scoring 18 second-chance points to earn the three-point victory.
The Quakers erased a 12-point Wabash advantage in the first half and cancelled out a 33-point effort by senior forward Joe DesJean (Indianapolis, IN/Perry Meridian). DesJean hit 15-of-19 shots from the field, was 2-of-3 from the three-point arc, 1-of-1 from the free throw line, but it was not enough for a Wabash victory.
Wabash trailed by two with less than :50 left in the game, the Quakers had a shot roll around the rim and out that was tipped out of bounds. That gave Wabash the basketball with 24 ticks remaining on the clock, facing a 73-71 deficit.
Brady Claxton (Shelbyville, IN/Shelbyville) was fouled as the ball was inbounded by Wabash, cutting the Earlham lead to one after connecting on one of two free throws. A quick foul by Matt Storm (Anderson, IN/Lapel) sent the Quakers to the line, where Brandon Miller threw down both free tosses to put Earlham up 75-72. DesJean grabbed an offensive board on a missed Wabash three, cutting the lead to one on the layup with only eight seconds left in the contest. The Little Giants were forced to foul when they were unable to steal the inbound pass, sending Nathan Stoops to the free throw line with six seconds remaining. The senior canned both free throws to make it 77-74 in favor of Earlham.
Wabash had one final opportunity, but could not get a shot off as the Quakers knocked the ball away to force a length-of-the-court shot at the buzzer that fell short.
It looked as if someone would have to call the Richmond Fire Department to put the nets out at halftime. Both teams were red-hot from the field in the first 20 minutes. The Little Giants hit 17-of-24 from the field (71-percent) and a blistering 8-of-15 from the three-point arc (63-percent). DesJean scored nearly every trip down the floor, finishing with 21 at halftime. Earlham had no problem scoring, either. The Quakers shot well enough to lead at the half of most games, but found themselves down by eight at the break. Earlham hit 11-of-28 first-half shots for 39-percent.
The Little Giants continued to shoot the lights out in the second half, but saw Earlham get back into the game off of Wabash turnovers and offensive rebounds.
Free throw shooting, turnovers, and offensive rebounds continued to haunt the Little Giants in the second half. Wabash committed 18 turnovers and grabbed only two offensive boards and 25 total. The Quakers finished with 30 rebounds and 10 turnovers.
Storm added 13 points coming off the bench for Wabash. The Quakers were led by Stoops with 32.
Wabash falls to 13-6 with the loss, 7-4 in the NCAC. Earlham moves to 11-9 with the win, 6-5 in the NCAC. The Little Giants return to Chadwick Court on Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. contest against the sixth-ranked College of Wooster Fighting Scots.