CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. – The Wittenberg men's basketball team picked up a significant victory in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) hunt, taking down third-place Wabash College by a score of 67-51 on the road on Wednesday night.

The Little Giants fell to 11-7 overall and 6-5 in the NCAC and sit in a third-place tie with Allegheny, both teams laying within striking distance of the  Tigers of Wittenberg and DePauw, each boasting a 5-6 record in the league and tied for fifth place.

Meanwhile, at the top of the standings, Wooster fell at Ohio Wesleyan to bring the two schools into a share of first place at 9-2 each.

Wittenberg improved to 7-11 overall while returning the favor to Wabash, who stole a 52-50 decision from the Tigers at Pam Evans Smith Arena back in December. They did so behind an outstanding performance from sophomore Jaelin Williams (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee). The wing scored 20 points on 5-of-9 field goal shooting, including an efficient 3-for-4 from three-point and a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line. He also contributed six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.

Williams' free-throw shooting came in the midst of an 18-for-21 night for the team. What the Tigers lacked in the field at 38 percent shooting, they made up for with 40 rebounds to Wabash's 30. The bench also stepped up as five of the six non-starters to enter the game scored, adding up to 16 points against the Little Giants' three tallies.

Wittenberg led 30-21 at the half after launching an 11-2 run over the final 5:38 of the first period following a tie at 19-19. After a 32-24 score less than two minutes into second half, it never got closer than 10 points and the Tigers held on for the win.

Sophomore Cody Phillippi (Xenia, Ohio/Xenia) came through with 13 points while shooting 5-for-10 from the field and dishing a team-best three assists. Sophomore Shane Edwards (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) chipped in with eight points, five rebounds, a pair of helpers and a block, while freshman Chris Sloneker (Monroe, Ohio/Monroe) dropped in seven points with a team-high seven rebounds.

The Tigers return to the hardwood on Saturday, Jan. 31, for a 3 p.m. contest on the road at Denison University in continued NCAC action.

John Strawn '07