Southern Indiana Today

Comer's Double-Double Not Enough In One-Point Loss at OWU

Sam Comer secured a double-double with a career-high 20 points and matched a career-best with 12 rebounds, but Wabash shot only 59 percent from the free throw line in a 75-76 North Coast Athletic Conference loss at Ohio Wesleyan Saturday afternoon.

Wabash (7-3, 2-1 NCAC) finished the game 19-of-32 from the free throw line for 59.4 percent. The Little Giants shot 10-of-20 from the stripe in the second period while trying to erase a six-point halftime deficit.
 
Wabash took a 6-4 lead in the first two minutes of the game before Ohio Wesleyan (6-3, 3-1 NCAC) went on an 11-1 scoring run to jump in front 13-7. The Battling Bishops expanded the lead to 11 points at 34-34 with 7:06. A basket from Champ McCorkle and a three-pointer from Vinny Buccilla trimmed the lead to six at 34-38 with 4:51 left to play in the opening half. Two free throws from Edreece Redmond and a layup from Comer cut the lead to two points with 3:21 left in the half before OWU closed out the period with a 43-37 advantage.

Wabash got the lead down to two points at 51-49 with 14:18 remaining in the game. Ohio Wesleyan stretched the advantage back to six points on three different occasions before leading 73-65 with 1:28 left on the clock.

Wabash rallied with a 5-0 run sparked by a three-point basket from Ahmoni Jones and a jumper from Comer with 33 seconds remaining. Jack Clement answered with a pair of free throws for OWU to stretch the lead to five points at 75-70. Redmond raced the length of the floor to score a layup from the left side with 17 seconds left on the clock. Ohio Wesleyan hit one of two free throws on its next possession, and Wabash took advantage with a second-chance basket by Comer that also drew a foul by the Bishops with two seconds left in the game. Comer nailed the free throw to make it a one-point game. The Little Giants were forced to foul to send OWU to the free throw line. The Bishops missed both attempts, but the horn sounded before Wabash could launch a potential game-winning shot from beyond half court.

Wabash missed ten second-half free throws after connecting on four of its first six free throws in the final period. The Little Giants shot 2-of-9 from the stripe over the last nine minutes of the game, including a 1-of-8 stretch before Comer connected on a free throw to complete the three-point play in the game's final seconds.

The conference road loss was the first by the Little Giants since a five-point defeat at DePauw on January 22, 2020, after going unbeaten in league play last season on the road.

In addition to Comer's impressive showing, the Little Giants) were led by Redmond, who totaled 14 points and two steals, and by Buccilla, who added eight points and two steals.

Comer pulled down six offensive rebounds to lead the Wabash offense, which grabbed 11 boards and turned them into 20 second-chance points.

Game Notes
» Wabash shot 25-of-57 from the field for 43.9 percent for the game. The Little Giants finished 6-of-22 from three-point range for 27.3 percent, going 2-of-11 from long range in the first half (18.2 percent) and 4-of-11 in the second (36.4 percent).
» Ohio Wesleyan shot 28-of-57 for the game (49.1 percent) and 10-of-28 from three-point range (35.7 percent). The Battling Bishops finished 10-of-14 from the free throw line for 71.4 percent shooting.
» Jack Clement led OWU with 31 points on 11-of-23 shooting. Grant Spicer scored 20 points and grabbed ten rebounds. David Rice added 14 points.
» Wabash returns to action on Tuesday evening at Rose-Hulman with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.

This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive. 

Original source can be found here.