The Little Giants' leading scorer, rebounder, and shot-blocker — Joe DesJean (Indianapolis, IN/Perry Meridian) — was held scoreless in the first half after picking up two quick fouls. But Reed Hoyer (West Lafayette, IN/West Lafayette) (photo) and Eric Buck (Indianapolis, IN/Cardinal Ritter) answered Coach Mac Petty's call to fill in for DesJean. Buck finished with six points and six rebounds in 13 minutes of action. Four was the magic valentine number for Hoyer, as the sophomore finished with four points, four rebounds, and a career-high four blocked shots in 14 minutes.
Wabash jumped its second-half lead to 10 after taking a five point lead into the locker room at halftime. But Ohio Wesleyan battled back to cut the lead to four with nine minutes remaining.
But while DesJean and junior Pleas Ferguson (Indianapolis, IN/Arsenal Tech) were kept quiet in the first half, they exploded in the second.
DesJean got free on an inbound pass underneath the Wabash basket, takin the alley-oop pass and slamming it through the hoop for two of his eight points. Ferguson got untracked offensively as well in the second half, scoring all of his team-high 13 points in the final 20 minutes.
Wabash moves to 11-12 with the win, 9-6 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The victory puts Wabash in a three-way tie with Ohio Wesleyan and Earlham, who lost to Wittenberg on Wednesday evening. The Little Giants can clinch third place and a home game in the first round of the NCAC Tournament with a win at Kenyon on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.