At the end of a regular season characterized by inconsistency, the Wabash basketball team began a late surge that has led them into the Semifinals of the NCAC Tournament against Allegheny Friday night in Wooster, Ohio.
The Little Giants have rattled off five consecutive wins, four of which coming on the road, to bring their total record to 13-12. Their last game was an impressive win in the opening round of the NCAC Tournament, defeating Hiram 83-75 Tuesday night.
Junior Chase Haltom lit up the Terriers from long range, going 6-11 in three pointers, leading the way to his game-high 25 points. Sophomore Wes Smith had a huge game as well, scoring 21 points to go along with his six rebounds, five assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Head basketball coach Mac Petty said the keys to their recent run streak are nothing profound – just that the team has found their shot and their swagger.
"We’re shooting the ball well and there’s a confidence now," Petty said. "You win a few games and start hitting your baskets and you get your confidence. When you're losing, it magnifies parts of the game – you’re trying to find things because you’re losing. All it was is making baskets and our confidence level."
Petty also said the team is healthier overall, which has certainly helped. Although junior forward Aaron Brock is still out, sophomore Wes Smith, recipient of two NCAC Player of the Week awards this season, is much healthier now then he has been, according to Petty.
Now the team turns their attention to Allegheny, who the Little Giants defeated 58-58 thriller in early January. This time, a trip to the Conference Championship Game is on the line.
The Alligators are led by George Raftis. The junior forward/center leads Allegheny with 15.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. "They’ve changed their personnel since we last played them; they’re a little quicker and more aggressive," Petty said. "They’ve got one big scoring threat inside that we’ll need to match, other than that we’ll just need to contain the rest of the team."
Petty said that, as far as a specific game plan goes, nothing changes this week. "You dance with the girl you brought to the dance," Petty said. "We just need to keep playing the way we’ve been playing."
Despite injuries and other issues that have prevented the team from maintaining a consistent starting roster, the team has played well when it’s mattered the most, and Petty said that’s a testament to the depth and work ethic of his squad this year.
"I’ve always believed in depth," Petty said. "That’s what this team is all about. Obviously we don’t like any of those things to happen [injuries, team suspensions, etc]. But you have to move on and do what you can. Fortunately, we have guys doing just that."