Wednesday night one of the oldest basketball cliches seemed to come true for Wabash.
Maybe the Little Giants did shoot the lights out at Earlham.
Wabash shot nearly 54 percent from the field in an 80-48 blowout of the Quakers, avenging a one-point loss to Earlham in Crawfordsville earlier in the season. The game was called by agreement of the coaches and officials after a power outage due to the high winds blowing through Indiana left Schuckman Court in the dark with 3:37 left in the contest. (View Coach Petty's thoughts about the game in this Quicktime movie clip [2 Mb]).
Sophomore Wes Smith exploded for 31 points, nearly outscoring the entire Earlham team in the first half.
The Little Giants jumped out to a 15-1 lead with Smith accounting for all but four of Wabash’s points. When he wasn’t dunking or sailing through the lane, Smith connected from long range, hitting 4-of-8 three-point attempts in the contest with two early bombs in the first six minutes of the contest.
Wabash doubled-up the Quakers at 32-16 when Brian Shelbourne drove the lane after a Smith steal with 5:17 left in the first half. A Chase Haltom three-pointer answered a long-range shot from Earlham’s Justin Barger to hold the lead at 16 points before Smith and Shelbourne combined to score the final eight points for the Little Giants in the period to put Wabash up 43-22 at the break. Smith was 7-of-13 from the field in the half for 21 points, one shy of the entire Earlham total.
After shooting 14-of-27 from the field in the first half while holding the Quakers to 7-of-22, Wabash showed no signs of slowing down in the second. Smith opened the period with another dunk, eventually scoring 10 points before taking a seat for the rest of the game. Wabash opened up a 27-point lead with another Shelbourne layup before a three by Dominique Thomas put the Little Giants in front 69-39 with 11:11 left to play.
While Smith watched from the bench, the Wabash offense continued to roll. Derek Bailey took Smith’s spot on the floor, finishing 6-of-7 including a three-pointer and one free throw for a career-high 14 points. Haltom finished with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting, while Shelbourne tossed in a career-best eight points.
Wabash had called a timeout to clear the bench with its final substitutes when the lights flickered, then finally gave way to outside weather conditions. A ten-minute delay followed before both teams agreed to call the game, giving the :Little Giants their ninth win of the season and bringing an end to their six-game losing streak.
The Little Giants controlled every phase of the game, outrebounding Earlham 37-22 while forcing 16 Quaker turnovers with seven steals and two blocked shots. Wabash handed out a season-high 15 assists. Haltom and Shelbourne led the way, each finishing with four. Wabash held Earlham to 16-of-48 shooting for the ballgame with just nine baskets in the final period.
Earlham (3-19, 3-10) was led by Tarrell Berry’s 11 points off the bench. Josh Brock added eight points, while Barger tossed in seven. The Quakers’ two leading scorers coming into the game --- Tristian Gregory and Shane Heidt --- were held to five and four points, respectively.
Wabash (9-12, 4-9 NCAC) moves into a tie for seventh with Denison in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings with the win. The Little Giants travel to Oberlin (5-17, 2-11) Saturday afternoon to play a Yeomen squad coming off a 62-50 win over Kenyon.