Wes Smith scored 21 points and Chase Haltom added 17 as Wabash College utilized a fast start to defeat the Big Red 73-54 in the quarterfinals of the 2010 North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament from Chadwick Court in Crawfordsville, Ind.

Wabash started out the game 6 for 8, forcing the Big Red into three turnovers which resulted in a 14-4 lead just five minutes into the contest.  Denison would get some early contributions from first-year forward Dimonde Hale (Columbus, Ohio/Northland) who scored the first nine points of the game for Big Red.  Hale would end up with 13 points in the first half, but Denison as a team would score only 17 in the first half, resulting in a 13-point halftime deficit.

In the second half a put-back off an offensive rebound by Hale would get the Big Red within eight points at 44-36 with 9:04 left to play.  That would spark a 10-0 run by the Little Giants, giving them an 18-point advantage with 6:50 remaining, effectively putting the game out of reach.

Hale would lead all scorers with 23 points and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes for the first double-double of his career.  He ends his inaugural season in Granville by averaging 14.3 ppg and 4.5 rebounds per contest.  Sophomore Mike Garabedian (Lagrange, Ill./Nazareth Academy) followed with eight points and six rebounds in 32 minutes.  Josh Leuchtag (Houston, Texas/Lamar) and Brett Tiberi (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) each scored seven points apiece for the Big Red.

Wabash shot 48 percent from the field (30 for 63) and held a 42-35 advantage on the boards.  Smith posted a double-double with his 21 point, 10 rebound night.  Brian Shelbourne added 12 points and seven boards for the Little Giants.

Wabash advances to the NCAC Semifinals on Friday night where they will take on No. 3 seed, Wittenberg at 6 p.m. from The College of Wooster. Denison's season comes to an end with a 7-19 record while Wabash improves to 18-7.