The Scots took the home court advantage, shooting 20 free throws while the Little Giants only went the stripe on two different occasions. Wooster was whistled for nine personal fouls in the game while Wabash drew 19 fouls. The Little Giants did not get a free throw attempt in the first half, and only shot four free throws in the first eight minutes of the second half, connecting on three of the four attempts. Wabash would never get to the line again in the game.
The Little Giants outshot the Scots, hitting 29 baskets compared to 27 for Wooster. The Scots connected on five three-pointers compared to five for Wabash.
Wabash had to erase two deficits in the contest. The Little Giants saw Wooster take a 7-0 lead in the first 3:23 of the contest before a trey by junior Matt Storm (Anderson, IN/Lapel) put Wabash on the scoreboard. The Scots led by as many as 12 points in the opening period before the Little Giants rallied in the final five minutes of the first half.
Wabash trailed 31-19 after two free throws by Wooster’s Matt Smith. The Scots would score only one more basket in the period on a three by freshman Kyle Witucky. The Wabash defense stifled the Scots, while the Little Giants started hitting on the offensive end. A three-point basket by freshman Kyle Medeiros (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) cut the lead to single digits. Senior guard Brady Claxton (Shelbyville, IN/Shelbyville) drove the lane on the next Wabash offensive possession to draw the Little Giants to within seven with 3:45 left in the half. After the Witucky three, the Little Giants scored the final six points of the period on a layup by senior Joe DesJean (Indianapolis, IN/Perry Meridian), a turnaround scoop shoot by senior Eric Buck (Indianapolis, IN/Cardinal Ritter), and a final eight-foot jumper by DesJean with 10 seconds left in the period to make send both teams to the locker room with Wooster holding a 34-30 lead.
The Wabash defense continued to frustrate the Scots at the start of the second half, holding Wooster scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half. The Little Giants kept the offensive spark lit, as well. Wabash opened the period with a 10-0 run to go from four down to up six to start the second half. Another three-pointer by Medeiros after two Wooster free throws stretched the advantage to seven with 13:26 showing on the game clock. The two teams traded baskets going into the midway point of the half when the Scots came roaring back, going inside to senior Bryan Nelson for three consecutive baskets to tie the game at 50-50 at the 9:11 mark.
A Witucky layup was answered by DesJean to knot the game again. On the next trip down the floor, DesJean stepped in front of a pass, knocking the ball to midcourt. He sprinted after the loose ball, coming up with it and driving the rest of the way to give Wabash a 54-52 lead.
The teams kept trading baskets until the three-minute mark when Wooster’s Blake Mealer canned a three to put the Scots in front by one. After a Wabash turnover, Mealer struck again with another three to move in front 66-62. The Scots would never trail again, hitting 8-of-9 free throws in the final minute to earn a trip to Saturday night’s championship game against Allegheny, a 73-72 winner over Wittenberg in the first semifinal game.
Wabash pounded the basketball into the paint again and again, scoring 30 points in the paint to equal the Scots inside effort. DesJean led the inside scoring with 20 points before fouling out in the second half. Buck tossed in 12. Medeiros scored a career-best 13 points in the loss that saw the Little Giants finish with a 16-10 overall record for the year.
DesJean finished his career as the sixth all-time leading scorer in Wabash history, scoring 1,506 points in his four-year stint at Wabash. He is the all-time leader in blocked shots with 194, including two against the Scots. He will also finish second in rebounding with 827 career boards.
Claxton moved into 12th place on the all-time school scoring list, putting up 1,129 points in his four seasons. He will leave in second place on the all-time made three-pointers chart with 173.