Wabash shot just 34.8 percent from the field, but held the Yeomen to 28.6 percent to claim the win in the final North Coast Athletic Conference game of the regular season.
Junior Joe DesJean (Indianapolis, IN/Perry Meridian) scored 11 of his game-high 17 points in the second half to keep the Little Giants in front after taking a 31-23 halftime lead. DesJean finished with a game-high 12 rebounds, and added three of Wabash's eight blocked shots.
While DesJean stayed at his season average, it was the Wabash bench that provided a boost of offense in the victory. Sophomore guard Ryan Smith (Indianapolis, IN/Decatur Central) picked up the offensive attack as the Oberlin defense silenced junior Brady Claxton (Shelbyville, IN/Shelbyville) on the offensive end of the floor. Smith tied his career scoring high with 16 points, hitting 3-of-6 shots from the field and 7-of-10 from the free throw line.
Starters Jim Sink (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) and Ryan Short (Indianapolis, IN/Perry Meridian) also kept the scoring balanced for Wabash. Sink tossed in nine points, while Short had seven points and nine rebounds. Sink, a freshman forward, added five rebounds and three blocked shots to his totals in 23 minutes of play.
The Little Giants never trailed in the game, despite being held to only six points in the first five minutes of the contest.
Wabash finishes the regular season at 14-10, 11-5 in the NCAC. Oberlin, led by the 12-point effort of Djordje Eremic and 10 points from Ric Pierce, falls to 8-16, 7-9 in conference play.
Wabash will host a first-round game of the upcoming NCAC Basketball Championship Tournament on Tuesday, February 19 at 7:30 p.m. by virtue of its third-place finish in the conference. Oberlin, the fifth-seed in the upcoming tournament, will travel to Ohio Wesleyan on Tuesday night.