By: Andrew Korba

HIRAM, Ohio -- Denison went on an 18-0 run late in the second half to pick up a 77-61 victory over the Hiram College men's basketball team on Wednesday night.

The Terriers drop to 11-5 on the season and 5-4 in NCAC play, while the Big Red improve to 9-7, 4-5.

Sophomore Paul Ortiz (Canton, Ohio/McKinley Senior) led the Terriers with 16 points and a career-best five steals.

Senior Austen Rekolt (Salem, Ohio/West Branch) added 10 points and four assists, while sophomore Kelvin Jones (Sheffield Lake, Ohio/Brookside) finished with eight points and 12 rebounds.

A trey from Rekolt with 7:17 left to play gave Hiram a 57-54 advantage.

From there, Denison reeled off 18 unanswered points to open up a 72-57 lead with 3:39 remaining. In all, the Big Red outscored the Terriers 23-4 over the final 7:17 of the contest.

The first half saw Hiram use a big run of its own to take the lead.

Denison built an early 18-9 advantage, but the Terriers would respond with a 16-1 run to take a 25-19 lead with 5:44 left in the first half.

Hiram took a 34-32 lead into the intermission, but Denison's late game run allowed them to pick up the victory.

The Terriers went 24-of-64 (35.9 percent) from the field and just 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) in 3-pointers, while the Big Red were 26-of-60 (43.3 percent) in shooting and 8-of-20 (40.0 percent) from beyond the arc.

Denison held a 44-35 edge on the glass and saw its bench outscore Hiram's 30-24.

Jett Speelman led the Big Red with 26 points and six rebounds.

Hiram will return to action on Saturday with a home tipoff against Kenyon. The game is the second of a doubleheader and will begin at approximately 3 p.m.