Wabash fell behind Marian College 13 points in the opening minutes of the championship game of the 2008 Pete Thorn Basketball Tournament Saturday afternoon at Chadwick Court and never recovered. The Little Giants rallied to within five points before falling 74-62. (View photos from the game here.)
The Little Giants connected on just two of their first 12 shots in the contest. Wabash trailed 9-0 after five minutes before Wes Smith's jumper eliminated the goose egg on the home side of the scoreboard. The Little Giants eventually improved to shoot 11-of-28 for the period for 39 percent, but could not cool down the Marian shooters. The Knights hit 13-of-23 first half attempts and were 27-of-49 for the game for 55 percent. Marian was even better from the three-point arc, connecting on 7-of-12 attempts for 58 percent.
Freshman Derek Bailey's second three-pointer of the opening period got Wabash to within single digits for the first time since the 14-minute mark. Chase Haltom added a three of his own to cut the lead to 32-27. The Knights would add a three-pointer while Wabash could only answer with a free throw to go to the break with a 35-28 score in favor of Marian.
The Little Giants could only match Marian in the second period, never getting any closer than seven points. Haltom, who was held in check for much of the first half before scoring 10 points after a 31-point effort in Friday night's first round win over Calumet College of St. Joseph, managed just two points in the final period. Smith and Aaron Brock carried the scoring load for the Little Giants down the stretch, tallying 14 and 10 points, respectively, in the final period.
Smith lead Wabash with 18 points, while Brock added 13. Haltom scored 12 points and Bailey finished with a career-best 11 points. Brock and Brian Maloney each had seven rebounds.
Alex Sylvester was the tournament MVP, finishing with 18 points to lead the Knights — along with 18 from Anthony Furlin — in scoring in the title game. Jordan Tucker also earned a place on the All-Tournament team. Haltom and Smith were All-Tournament picks for Wabash.
The Little Giants (3-4) will play at Rose-Hulman Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. before breaking for the winter holidays. Wabash finishes the 2008 portion of its season with a game at Franklin on December 30.
Photo - Chase Haltom drives for two of his 12 points.