Wabash 55, Ohio Wesleyan 54

Feb. 12, 2003

Joe DesJean blocked a shot by junior center Travis Schwab (Medina) with 3 seconds to play and Schwab's follow shot was off the mark as Wabash held on to defeat Ohio Wesleyan in North Coast Athletic Conference action on Wednesday in Crawfordsville, Ind.

After a thrilling second half, Wabash had broken a 52-52 tie with a 3-pointer by Brady Claxton with 1:06 to play.

Schwab answered with a pair of free throws with :49 remaining, and Ohio Wesleyan got the ball back when DesJean missed the front end of a one-and-one with :15 remaining. After a pair of timeouts, the Bishops got the ball to Schwab, but DesJean got a hand on his jumper with :03 remaining. Schwab got the rebound but his off-balance shot was off-target.

Wabash threatened to run away with game early, breaking a 6-6 tie with 3 straight baskets by Eric Buck and a pair of buckets by DesJean for a 16-6 Little Giant lead with 9:07 left in the first half.

Ohio Wesleyan came back to tie the game at 23-23 with 1:15 left in the first half. Schwab scored 8 points and junior center Charlie Smith (Centerburg) added 6 points during the Bishops' 17-7 run.

Wabash's Chris Waters scored with :11 left in the first half to give the Little Giants a 25-23 lead at intermission, setting up one of the most nailbiting 20 minutes of the season.

The second half was a back-and-forth chess match that featured 9 ties. Neither team led by more than 3 points.

Ohio Wesleyan had 4 different leads of 3 points, the last at 47-44 on Schwab's jumper with 8:19 left in regulation time.

Wabash countered with a 6-0 run to take a 3-point lead of its own. DesJean sank a lay-in to bring the Little Giants within 1, then David Wagner's 3-pointer gave Wabash the lead at 49-47 with 7:25 remaining. Ryan Short then hit one of 2 free throws with 5:50 left for a 50-47 Wabash lead.

Sophomore forward Brandon Cole (Sidney) drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game once again, and Claxton and Schwab traded points to leave the game tied at 52-52, setting up the tense final moments.

Schwab led the Bishops with 23 points and 4 assists. Smith finished with 13 points and Cole grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

DesJean led Wabash with 17 points, Buck added 12 points and Claxton finished with 10 points.

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