Wabash picked up its shooting in the second half of Saturday’s North Coast Athletic Conference game at Wooster, but could not overcome the Scots’ outside scoring effort in a 78-58 final that ended the Little Giants’ two-game winning streak against Wooster.
The Little Giants shot 13-for-27 (48 percent) in the second half after connecting on 8-of-30 attempts (26.7 percent) from the field in the opening period. Wabash was 4-of-20 from beyond the three-point arc, while the Scots hit 9-of-22.
Wabash had defeated the Scots by a nearly-identical score (75-58) at Chadwick Court earlier this season. The Little Giants handed Wooster an 87-63 home court loss in the semifinals of last year's NCAC Tournament.
Brian Shelbourne started the game with a driving layup for the first basket and a 2-0 Wabash lead which would prove to be the only one for the Little Giants. Wooster reeled off a 10- scoring run over the next five minutes before the Little Giants answered with a rebound and length-of-the-court drive for a layup by Wes Smith. The Scots would eventually take an 18-point lead 7:38 left in the first half before a free throw by Derek Bailey, two baskets by Aaron Brock, and three from Andrew Gilman pulled Wabash to within 10 points at 26-16.
Chase Haltom answered a Greg Ross free throw with the second trey of the game for the Little Giants to make it an eight-point game. Wooster finished the first period with an 8-2 run, capped by a three-pointer by Justin Hallowell in the closing seconds of the period to give the Scots a 35-21 halftime lead.
Wabash rallied to cut the Scots’ lead to 11 after Wooster opened the second half with four quick points to move in front 38-21. The Little Giants would get no closer than 14 points over the final 15 minutes.
Haltom led Wabash with 13 points. Smith added 11. Ian Franks paced Wooster (15-6, 10-2 NCAC) with 23 points. Justin Hallowell added 15, while Nathan Balch scored 14.
Wabash (8-12, 3-9) will try to snap its six-game losing streak Wednesday against in-state rival Earlham College. Tipoff for the NCAC matchup is set for 7:30 p.m.