Wooster Falls Again at Wabash, 83-68

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Indiana – Wabash College's shooting accuracy was too much for The College of Wooster men's basketball team to overcome in Saturday's 83-68 Little Giants' win at Chadwick Court.

Wabash (11-3, 4-1 North Coast Athletic Conference) shot 52.4 percent from downtown, hitting 11-of-21 attempts. On the flip side, Wooster (10-3, 4-1 NCAC) was just 6-of-21 for a 28.6 percent clip. The game's big turning point was just after halftime when Wabash hit four three-pointers in the opening 4:41, including two by Vinny Buccilla. Wooster junior JJ Cline's ability to post up and score kept the Fighting Scots in the hunt, but trading twos for threes resulted in Wabash opening a 46-35 lead at the second stanza's 14:32 mark.

Overall, the Little Giants shot 61.9 percent from the floor, which included a near-70-percent 16-of-23 in the second half. The high efficiency was backed up by a 20-of-26 afternoon at the charity stripe, and the 76.9 percent mark factors in an 0-for-4 start at the onset.

Wooster's steals and ability to draw charges resulted in several key plays in the first half. Sophomore Jamir Billings stripped the ball from Wabash's Ahmoni Jones at the first period's 10:24 mark. The Scots' point guard found junior Carter Warstler for a fastbreak layup that put Wooster up 21-19 seconds later.

Next, Warstler took the first of two charges in the game, and Cline had the lead up to four with a floater that beat the shot clock. Later, senior Turner Kurt was simply too strong and too tall when a smaller Little Giant switched onto the 6-8 forward, and the Scots' bucket there made it 25-19 with 8:19 on the clock.

Sam Comer's accuracy at the line handed Wabash a 30-29 halftime lead. Wooster briefly retook the lead on senior Najee Hardaway's half-opening bucket, but Jones immediately responded with his second three-pointer of the day.

Hardaway scored 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting to lead the Scots. Cline and junior Elijah Meredith added 10 apiece, while Meredith's six rebounds were good for high honors on the team. Warstler added nine points, while Billings finished with eight points, four rebounds, and four steals.

Wooster shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52), was 12-of-16 (75 percent) at the line, and had 13 turnovers.

Buccilla did not miss from the field in the game, riding a 6-of-6 afternoon to a team-leading 16 points. His line included a co-team-best five rebounds and a Little Giant-leading four assists. Edreece Redmond was next with 14 points and Jones was right behind at 13.              

With its win, Wabash is the first NCAC team to beat Wooster four consecutive times, including NCAC Tournament games, since archnemesis Wittenberg University swept Wooster during the 1995-96 and 1996-97 regular seasons.

Next, Kenyon College (7-6, 0-4 NCAC) travels to Wooster for a 7 p.m. game on Monday, January 9.