Wabash's Wes Smith scored a game-high 28 points as the seventh-ranked Little Giants defeated the Denison University men's basketball team 73-57 in North Coast Athletic Conference action on Wednesday night from Chadwick Court in Crawfordsville, Ind.

The two squads went a combined 9-for-9 from the field which resulted in eight lead changes in the opening three minutes of play.  Smith scored six of Wabash's first eight points, while sophomore Dimonde Hale (Columbus, Ohio/Northland) was responsible for four of DU's first nine tallies.  After an Aaron Zinnerman three gave the home team an 11-9 edge, Smith added to the advantage with a triple a fast-break layup which extended the Wabash lead to seven points.

Trailing 21-10, Denison went on an 8-0 run to trim the deficit to three with 9:42 left in the period.  Junior Marr Mansfield (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville Central) opened the run with a bucket, while Hale buried a pair of jumpers on back-to-back trips down the court.  Mansfield capped off the rally with another jumper off an assist from classmate Casey Stockton (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer).

The Little Giants regained an eight-point edge on two separate occasions, including a 34-26 advantage with 5:36 remaining in the opening frame.  With just over five minutes in the half, Hale knocked down a pair of free throws to trim the margin to six.  On the ensuing possession, junior Mike Garabedian (La Grange, Ill./Nazareth Academy) came up with steal which resulted in a Mansfield basket that narrowed the gap to 34-30 with 4:45 on the clock.

After Wabash's Derek Bailey nailed a jumper in the paint to retake a six-point advantage (36-30), junior Brett Tiberi (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) answered with a three to make it a one possession game with two and a half left in the frame.  With 88 seconds on the clock, Smith split a pair of free throws as the Little Giants took a 37-33 lead into the locker room.

Tiberi opened the second frame with a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 37-35.  However, the home squad answered with a 25-5 run spanning almost 11 minutes to build up a 22-point lead.  Wabash maintained a double-digit lead over the final 8:51 en route to the 16-point victory.

Hale led the Big Red with 15 points and six rebounds, while Tiberi added 11 points behind a 3-for-5 performance from three-point land.

Smith went 10-for-12 from the floor, including a 3-for-5 performance from long range.  Nick Curosh grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, while Smith pulled down seven boards.

Denison falls to 4-9 on the year and 1-4 in the NCAC, while Wabash improves to 13-0 overall and 5-0 in the league. DU returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 8) when they travel to Oberlin.  Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.