CRAWFORDSVILLE, Indiana – The College of Wooster was in control early in both halves, but ultimately could not keep up with Wabash College's torrid three-point shooting in Saturday's 91-81 loss to the Little Giants at Chadwick Court.
Wabash College (17-8, 13-3 North Coast Athletic Conference) denied Wooster (16-9, 12-4 NCAC) a league-leading 20th championship with the win and clinched the top seed for next week's conference tournament behind 15 three-pointers and a 61.7 percent (29-of-47) field-goal mark for the game. The conference title is Wabash's second, with the first coming during the 2021-22 season.
Guards Avery Beaver and Vinny Buccilla did the majority of the damage, combining for a 12-of-16 showing from downtown. That helped Wabash to a 57.7 percentage for the game. Outside of Beaver and Buccilla, Wabash was just 3-of-10 from deep.
Once Saturday's outcome was locked up, a major milestone happened in Wooster basketball history. Junior Jamir Billings became the program's all-time assist leader, breaking the record of 444 held by Erich Riebe (1988-92) and Antwyan Reynolds (1998-02). Billings' 445th assist came on sophomore Jaiden Cox-Holloway's three-pointer with 15.1 seconds remaining.
Early on, Wooster's dominant post play had the upper hand on Wabash's outside shooting. Senior Nick Everett established an imposing presence at the onset, scoring seven of Wooster's nine points during a game-opening 9-2 run that spanned the first 3:25. Billings sucked the defense in, then passed to Everett for the first of his seven assists in the contest. Next, Everett backed down Champ McCorkle before scoring, then he took the ball away from Beaver en route to a fastbreak dunk to cap the stretch.
The production from Wooster's five spot continued upon sophomore EJ Kapihe subbing in for the first time. Kapihe's finesse complemented Everett's strength, and the sophomore had Wooster up 18-10 after backing a Little Giant down in the post, then connecting on a turnaround floater.
The three-pointers started falling for Wabash just past the first half's midpoint, and the Little Giants claimed a lead for the first time since the opening seconds just before the 9:00 mark. The lead was six after Buccilla's triple made it 26-20 with 7:49 remaining before halftime. Wooster finally got the score tied up at 3:56 on junior Ashton Price's fastbreak layup. It was tied again at 33 when Price connected on a baseline jumper with the shot clock about to expire. He hit a three-pointer that would have given Wooster a 40-38 halftime lead, but it was waved off due to not getting the shot off before the buzzer.
A strong second-half start saw Wooster claim a 46-41 lead when Wabash surrounded Everett in the post. That enabled senior JJ Cline to come open at the top for a triple. The momentum was short lived, as Wabash scored on nine of 10 possessions that followed to take a 62-54 lead with 12:14 remaining. Wooster had the deficit down to 62-59 on Kapihe's layup with 10:06 to play, but three straight Wabash triples quickly turned the tide back in favor of the Little Giants. Wabash's lead never dipped below seven over the final 8:45.
Price scored a team-high 18 points, while Everett and Kapihe combined for 32 of Wooster's 81. Kapihe went 7-of-10 from the floor and had four rebounds in the contest. Cox-Holloway finished with nine points and a team-leading six rebounds.
Wooster shot 51.5 percent (34-of-66) for the game and scored 54 of its points in the paint.
Beaver was 8-of-12 overall from the floor en route to a game-high 27 points. Buccilla followed with 23 on 7-of-9 shooting, and both guards had five assists. Hupmann overcame the slow start to finish with three blocks.
Wabash, which outscored Wooster 45-18 from beyond the arc, had a 30-25 rebounding advantage.
Wooster hosts seventh-seeded DePauw University (12-13, 7-9 NCAC) in the quarterfinals of the NCAC Tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 20. Game time is 7 p.m.