Wabash survived a poor shooting effort against Kenyon’s tenacious 2-3 zone defense in the Little Giants’ 52-47 victory in Gambier, Ohio Saturday afternoon.
The Little Giants shot 28 percent for the game, connecting on 16 of 57 total shots. Free throws by Aaron Brock and a key turnover by the Lords in the final seconds of the contest provided the five-point victory for the Little Giants.
Wabash trailed most of the first half, grabbing two one-point leads near the midway point of the period. Kenyon used its advantage at the free throw line to take a three-point halftime lead, outscoring the Little Giants 8-2 at the stripe.
Chase Haltom (right) opened the second half of play with back-to-back three pointers to put Wabash up 33-30. The Little Giants eventually opened up a five-point lead on free throws by Wes Smith with 13 minutes remaining. Kenyon battled back, eventually cutting the Wabash lead to 39-37 with 12 minutes showing on the game clock.
Wabash would score one basket over the next six minutes while Kenyon scored just four points during that stretch, tying the game at 41-41. Eventually the game was tied at 47-47 with 1:34 left in the contest. A jumper by Smith in lane gave Wabash a two-point lead in the closing minute, followed by a free throw by Brock with six seconds left to put the Little Giants up three points. Kenyon took a timeout to set up the final three-point attempt in an effort to send the game to overtime, but AJ Clair tried to run the baseline looking for a Kenyon player to inbound the basketball two, committing a traveling violation to give the basketball back to Wabash. Two more Brock free throws sealed the game for Wabash.
The Little Giants went 6-for-28 from the field over the final 20 minutes, connecting on 3-of-18 three-point attempts. Wabash missed a total of 41 shots in the game and 25 three-point attempts. The Lords were 17-of-46 from the field for 37 percent, hitting just three out of 15 treys. The Little Giants outrebounded Kenyon 46-29.
Haltom and Brock each scored 15 points to pace the Wabash effort. Smith added 12 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. He also finished with three assists and four blocked shots.
Dave Knapke recorded a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead Kenyon (5-13, 2-8 NCAC).
Wabash (12-6, 7-3 NCAC) returns to Chadwick Court for two games this week. The Little Giants play Earlham College Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m. before playing host to the College of Wooster Sunday at 2 p.m.
