Crawfordsville, Ind. — Denison Men's Basketball battled on the road Tuesday night but came up just short in a 64–59 setback to Wabash. The Big Red trimmed the deficit after halftime and made a late push, but the Little Giants held on in a tightly contested NCAC matchup. Denison falls to 8-5 and 3-1 in conference play, while Wabash improves to 8-4 and 2-1 in conference play.
First Half: Wabash opened the game on an 11–2 run, prompting an early Denison timeout. Aidan King knocked down a three-pointer to get the Big Red on the board, cutting the deficit to 10 with just under 14 minutes remaining in the half. The Little Giants responded with back-to-back threes to push the lead to 16, 21-5.
Jack Steinbach and Owen Giannoulias scored inside to trim the margin to 10 with fewer than nine minutes to play, and Liam Taylor followed with a three-pointer before converting a layup off a steal by Ellis Appiah. Denison continued to chip away, pulling within eight, but Wabash closed the half with a three-pointer to take a 32–22 lead into the break.
Second Half: The Little Giants opened the half with an 8–2 run, capped by a dunk that forced a Denison timeout. Coming out of the break, Taylor converted a layup and followed with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 14. Giannoulias followed with back-to-back layups around the 15-minute mark to pull the Big Red within 12 at 45–33. Denison then began to string together key possessions, chipping away at the deficit with a jumper from Appiah and a layup by King.
Kellon Smith capped the run with a three-pointer and a layup, trimming the margin to seven with 5:42 remaining, 55–48. A jumper from Taylor with 3:19 remaining cut the margin to four at 57–53. Wabash looked to maintain its lead, but Smith answered with back-to-back layups in the final minute to bring the Big Red within four at 61–57 with 1:01 to play. The Little Giants then sealed the outcome at the free-throw line down the stretch, holding on for a 64–59 victory.
Key Performers:
- Owen Giannoulias paced the Big Red with 14 points to go along with seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
- Kellon Smith added 14 points, three rebounds, and an assist
- Liam Taylor also finished with 14 points, two rebounds, and a steal.
- Luke Salkowski anchored the glass with a game-high 12 rebounds, while contributing eight points, three assists, a steal, and a block.
Up Next for the Big Red:
Denison returns to Granville, Ohio to take on the Wittenberg University Tigers on Saturday, January 10, at 2 p.m. inside Livingston Gymnasium.
