If you start to count the number of mistakes the DePauw men's basketball team made Wednesday night, you might still be counting.
But head coach Bill Fenlon narrowed it down to just a few.
Against Wabash College, he said his team lacked intensity on defense, and couldn't find any rhythm. the Tigers squandered a 28-22 halftime lead, and fell to the Little Giants, 52-48.
The defeat marked DePauw's fifth loss by four or fewer points.
"We just weren't very good in a lot of different areas," Fenlon said. "If you look at the score, I'm surprised it was as close as it was."
The Tigers (13-7, 6-5 North Coast Athletic Conference) started hot from the outset led by eight points by Pat Haggin coming off the bench. Haggin slashed into the lane, drew a foul, and hit a layup for a three-point play. He then hit a jumper, and drained a three-pointer to lift DePauw to an early 14-4 advantage.
Wabash head coach Antonie Carpenter then called a time-out to tell his team to stay composed.
"At that time we were getting good looks at the bucket, and we missed some layups in that stretch," Carpenter said. "We have to keep throwing it inside and look to score that way.
The Little Giants (6-14, 4-7 NCAC) battled back in the first half led by Ross Sponsler. The freshman nailed two shots from beyond the three-point arc, and pulled Wabash to within six at halftime.
In the second, the effort was notably different for Wabash.
Carpenter said his team stepped up the defensive intensity, and it forced six turnovers.
The Little Giants also turned up the offense, shooting 52 percent from the field including four three-pointers.
With nine minutes left to play, Wabash went on a 13-2 scoring run that didn't see the Tigers scoring for more than five minutes. Andy Walsh led the way for the Little Giants with two three-pointers, and Houston Hodges chipped in with five points.
Haggin pulled DePauw within five points with his second three-pointers of the game and two minutes remaining, and Mike Wilkison connected as well to close the gap to within two.
That's as close as the Tigers would get as Sponsler hit two free throws to end the game.
"We struggled a little bit with consistency from a mental standpoint all season," Fenlon said. "We've had some really, really good efforts, and we've had some efforts where we haven't given a concentration level where it gives us a chance to win."
Wilkison led all scorers with 18 points including hitting 6-8 shots from beyond the arc. Barry Flynn, DePauw's leading scorer with 15.2 points per game, posted just four, and had none at halftime.
"Flynn got two quick fouls and didn't play much in the first half," Flynn said. "It was hard for him to get back in the game. He's our leading scorer and rebounder, and everybody's scout is keyed on keeping him off the boards, and trying to limit his scoring opportunities."
DePauw was also out-rebounded 36-20, and shot 34.8 percent in the second half compared with Wabash's 52.4.
"They pounded us on the boards," Fenlon said. "We needed more guys to be better than what we had, hence the result. ... There were an awful lot of things that didn't go well. You just have to play better on the road. It's that simple. Especially up there."
The Tigers travel Saturday to face Kenyon College (11-9, 5-6) at 3 p.m.