Henry Hinkle poured in a game-best 32 points, including his team’s final four as the Ohio Wesleyan men’s basketball team outlasted visiting Wabash 69-65 in North Coast Athletic Conference action Wednesday night at Branch Rickey Arena.
Vinny Buccilla hit a jumper to pull the Little Giants (8-8, 4-3) within one, 65-64, with 49 seconds left, but Hinkle answered with a bucket of his own on the Bishops’ (6-10, 3-4) next trip down the floor.
Wabash got a couple looks at a potential game-tying three, but had to settle for a Sam Comer free throw after an offensive rebound instead.
With the Little Giants forced to foul, Hinkle sealed the deal with a pair of free throws with two seconds left.
The game was close throughout. Wabash jumped out to a seven-point lead — the largest by either team all night — midway through the first half, but Ohio Wesleyan got back to even by halftime thanks to three-pointers by Hinkle and Jessee Battle.
The Bishops, who never led by more than four, took their first lead when Hinkle drilled a triple to make it a 48-45 game with 9:56 left.
Hinkle did a little of everything in the win, hitting four of OWU’s seven threes while going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. He also had four rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Other Bishop standouts included Battle, who had 16 points; and Tony Carter, who finished with a team-best seven boards and two blocks.
Comer and Ahmoni Jones led the Little Giants with 16 points apiece while Avery Beaver finished with 14 points in the setback.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Kasey Schipfer scored a game-best 17 points and Elizabeth Homan and Lauren Denison chipped in 10 apiece to lead Ohio Wesleyan to a solid 68-51 NCAC win over visiting Denison in the second game of a men’s-women’s doubleheader Wednesday night at Branch Rickey Arena.
The Bishops (10-3, 1-1) used a strong second quarter to pull away heading into halftime. Up just a bucket, 20-18, after the first, OWU outscored Denison (10-3, 1-1) 20-12 in the second quarter.
Ohio Wesleyan won the third and fourth quarters, too, using a 15-13 third and 13-8 fourth to smooth out the scoring summary.
The Bishops didn’t shoot well, but made up for it on the boards, winning the rebounding battle 51-26. OWU also made 10 more free throws, finishing 16-for-21 from the charity stripe.
