Ohio Wesleyan 80, Wabash 64

Jan. 14, 2009

Junior post Brent Pleiman (Russia) scored 20 points during the first half to power Ohio Wesleyan to a double-digit lead, and the Bishops went on to defeat Wabash in North Coast Athletic Conference action on Wednesday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Pleiman hit a jumper and 3 putbacks as the Bishops built an 8-4 lead, but Wabash drew to within 8-7 on a 3-pointer by Chase Haltom with 15:43 left in the first half.

Pleiman then scored on another offensive rebound to kick off a 12-0 run for the Bishops, with senior wing Kyle Miller (Delaware/Hayes) and senior wing Mitch Noggle (Dublin/Coffman) adding 3-pointers, Pleiman sinking a pair of free throws and Miller hitting a lay-in for a 20-7 Bishop advantage with 12:36 left in the period.

The Little Giants rallied to within 9 points on 4 different occasions during the first half, but that was as close as the visitors would come as Ohio Wesleyan ended the period with a Pleiman jumper and lay-ins by Miller and Pleiman to take a 42-27 lead at the break.

Pleiman finished the first half with 20 points, surpassing his career best of 18 set on Saturday against Hiram, but there was more to come.

The Bishop post added a lay-in and a free throw early in the second half to extend the Ohio Wesleyan lead to 48-31 less than 2 minutes into the action, and senior wing Kyle Holliday (Van Wert) followed with a 3-pointer and a pair of lay-ins to highlight a 15-2 Bishop run that extended the margin to 66-35 with 12:20 remaining.

Pleiman finished with career bests of 24 points and 11 rebounds. He went 10-for-17 from the field and 8 of his 11 boards came off the offensive glass. Miller added 16 points and Holliday added 12 points and a team-high 3 assists.

Aaron Brock and Ben Burkett shared the Wabash lead with 15 points apiece, and Wes Smith added 10 points.

Box Score