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DesJean's Early Explosion Leads Wabash to Thanksgiving Basketball Title

Senior All-American forward Joe DesJean (Indianapolis, IN/Perry Meridian) scored 10 of his 22 points in the first few minutes of the championship game of the Colorado College/Radisson Inn Thanksgiving Tournament to lead the Little Giants to an 80-72 victory over Philadelphia Biblical College on Saturday night.

DesJean and the rest of the Wabash squad didn't need any extra time to win the championship. On Friday night it took two overtime periods for Wabash to defeat Tufts University to advance to the title game.

Wabash jumped out to a 12-point lead early and never looked back. The Little Giants led 47-32 at the half, then held on down the stretch to earn the eight-point victory, the fourth win of the season for Wabash and its third in a row.

The Little Giants shot 53-percent from the field on 28-of-53 shooting. Wabash held PBC to 40-percent from the field and just 3-of-15 from the three-point arc.

DesJean earned tournament MVP honors. Senior guard Brady Claxton (Shelbyville, IN/Shelbyville) led the team in scoring in the championship game with 25 points to earn a spot on the all-tournament team, as well. Senior forward Pleas Ferguson (Indianapolis, IN/Arsenal Tech) added 11 points.

Wabash (4-1) will return from Colorado on Sunday to prepare for a Wednesday night matchup against rival DePauw University. The game begins at 7:30 p.m. in Greencastle, Indiana.