Five Wabash players scored in double figures Saturday afternoon, giving Wabash a 75-63 win at Denison and the sixth seed in next week’s North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. The Little Giants will travel to third-seeded Hiram for the opening round game Tuesday evening.

Wabash overcame an inauspicious start with spectacular shooting to pick up its fourth-straight win to close out the regular season. The Little Giants shot 55 percent from the field on 27-of-49 shooting with five three-pointers.

Denison raced out to a 6-0 lead on three Larry Farmer layups in the first 36 seconds, forcing Wabash head coach Mac Petty to call a 30-second timeout. The Little Giants responded with an 8-1 run to take a one-point lead they would never relinquish.

Junior Chase Haltom drilled long-range jumpers all game long, scoring a game-high 20 points, hitting 6-of-9 attempts with four three-pointers. The majority of the Wabash scoring came from inside. Senior Brian Maloney scored a career-best 15 points. Ben Burkett and Derek Bailey each added ten points from the interior, while Wes Smith slashed and shot his way to a ten-point ball game, as well.

(Head coach Mac Petty comments on his team's play after the Denison game.)

Wabash owned a 37-29 halftime lead, only to see Denison cut it to one point midway through the final period. A layup by Haltom and a trey from Andrew Gilman sparked an 11-4 run for Wabash that was capped with six straight points from Burkett. The Little Giants would stretch their lead to 13 before bringing the regular season to an end with the 12-point victory.

The Big Red drove the lane for most of their points, scoring 48 of their 63 from inside the paint. Wabash’s defense refused to allow an open look from outside, however. Denison shot 50 percent from the field (27-of-54), but was just of 1-of-11 from beyond the arc for nine percent.

Both teams finished with 30 rebounds. The Little Giants handed out 16 assists, with Gilman making five and Smith with four. Haltom also tied his career-high in steals with four thefts.

Farmer led the Big Red (8-17, 5-11 NCAC) with 17 points. Chris Luther scored 15 points, while Caleb McFerren added 11. Denison will be the eighth seed and will play at top-seeded Wooster on Tuesday.

Wabash finishes the regular season at 12-12 with a 7-9 conference mark heading into Tuesday’s first round game against the Terriers.

Results: Wabash 75, Denison 63