MEADVILLE, Pa. – Wabash (Ind.) College guard Adonis Joseph hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to propel the Little Giants (7-6, 4-0) to a 70-67 victory over the Allegheny College men’s basketball team (4-8, 1-3) Saturday afternoon at the Wise Center.
The Gators fell behind 9-2 to open the game but rallied to take the lead to halftime. Facing the seven-point deficit early, Allegheny used an 18-5 spurt to take a 20-14 lead with 8:21 left in the half. The Little Giants were able to get within one on two different occasions, but the Gators would hold a 30-28 advantage at intermission. Although Allegheny hit just one of seven free throws, the Gators, led by freshman Bill Babe’s (-3 effort, went 5-7 from the arc.
Wabash tied the score at 34 early in the second half but the Gators came back with a 13-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game. Junior forward Matt Majzlik scored three straight hoops and hit a pair of foul shots to key the run.
The Little Giants started chipping away at the Gator lead right away and off the strength of an 11-1 run, took a 63-58 lead with 2:10 to play. Majzlik and Babe scored hoops to make it a one-point game before Wabash’s Kyle Medeiros hit a jumper with 21 seconds to play to push the lead to 65-62. Following another lay-up by Babe, Wabash connected on a deep pass to Medeiros for a lay-up that made the score 67-64 with 11 seconds to play.
Without using a timeout, Allegheny’s Justin Schmitt dribbled up the court and was falling away as he released a three-pointer from the left wing. The shot hit nothing but net to tie the game at 67 with six seconds to go. Wabash also did not use a timeout, quickly inbounding to Joseph, who raced down the right sideline and fired up a triple at the horn that splashed through to give the Little Giants a hard-fought victory.
For the second straight night, the Gators were beaten on the boards and struggled from the foul line. Wabash held a 37-22 advantage on the boards, while Allegheny hit just six of 15 from the charity stripe. Allegheny’s defensive effort was nearly enough to overcome those numbers, as it forced 24 Little Giant turnovers that led to 27 AC points.
Majzlik led the team in scoring for the second consecutive night, as he was 8-14 from the floor in totaling 19 points. In his third collegiate start, Babe was 6-12 shooting as he set a new career-high with 17 markers. Freshman Brian Schulz (Edinboro, Pa./ General McLane) totaled five points, four rebounds and a game-high six assists.
Wabash had three players hit for double figures, led by Joseph’s 16. Forward Caleb Lyttle totaled 14 and Medeiros scored 13 in the winning effort.
Allegheny stays at home for its next contest, as it hosts Hiram (Ohio) College Wednesday, Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Wabash College vs Allegheny College 1/8/05 2 p.m. at Meadville, PA At Meadville, PA WABASH COLLEGE 70, ALLEGHENY COLLEGE 67 WABASH COLLEGE (7-6, 4-0 NCAC) Adonis Joseph 5-10 3-4 16; Caleb Lyttle 6-8 2-4 14; Kyle Medeiros 5-9 2-2 13; Kyle Coffey 4-6 0-0 8; David Wagner 2-2 1-2 6; Nate Bell 2-4 2-5 6; Gary Simkus 1-3 1-1 3; Michael Woods 1-2 0-0 2; Doug Ross 1-1 0-0 2; Ryan Stephens 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-45 11-18 70. ALLEGHENY COLLEGE (4-8, 1-3 NCAC) Matt Majzlik 8-14 3-4 19; Bill Babe 6-12 2-6 17; Justin Schmitt 4-7 0-1 9; Quinn O'Brien 4-9 0-0 9; Casey McCloskey 2-8 1-4 5; Brian Schulz 2-5 0-0 5; Mike Sefscik 1-2 0-0 3; Larry Sharp 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-59 6-15 67. Wabash College................ 30 40 - 70 Allegheny College............. 32 35 - 67 3-point goals-Wabash College 5-13 (Adonis Joseph 3-7; David Wagner 1-1; Kyle Medeiros 1-2; Michael Woods 0-1; Kyle Coffey 0-2), Allegheny College 7-17 (Bill Babe 3-5; Quinn O'Brien 1-3; Mike Sefscik 1-2; Brian Schulz 1-4; Justin Schmitt 1-1; Casey McCloskey 0-2). Fouled out--Wabash College-None, Allegheny College-None. Rebounds-Wabash College 37 (Caleb Lyttle 7; Nate Bell 7), Allegheny College 22 (Matt Majzlik 7). Assists-Wabash College 17 (David Wagner 5), Allegheny College 16 (Brian Schulz 6). Total fouls-Wabash College 14, Allegheny College 17. A-205 Adonis Joseph hits 3-pointer at buzzer to win