HIRAM, Ohio – February 9, 2022 – Hiram men's basketball dropped a close North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) contest to Denison by a score of 80-78 inside Price Gymnasium Wednesday night.

Coming out of the gate, Denison took a 13-6 lead after a Will Hunter jump shot about five minutes into the game.

Over the next couple of minutes, the Big Red lead held strong. Darren Rubin put in a three-point shot extending the lead to 23-14 almost halfway through the half.

Hiram started to come back after Doug Sartain made one of his multiple three-point shots on the night. Sartain was fouled on the made three, putting him at the line where he made the free throw attempt making it 23-18 with 12:22 remaining.

Spencer Willman sunk back-to-back jumpers as the Terriers continued to fight back now down 36-30 with under four minutes to go.

The Big Red put together a strong ending to the first half. Tyler Miller and Ricky Radtke made two-point shots with Denison going into the locker room up 46-37.

As they did to start the game, the road team came out of the locker room firing. Rubin and Freeman Brou made shots, as Denison got up 53-40 under three minutes into the half.

In a stretch lasting just over a minute, Hiram was able to take the lead. Sartain hit a three, followed by Oliver Clingain tying the game at 57. Kevin Beans Jr. put the Terriers up 60-57 for the first lead of the second half.

Down the stretch run, the game quickly became back-and-forth. After trading buckets, Texan Moulton put in a layup making it 73-73. Rubin answered the layup by making a three and giving the Big Red a 76-73 lead.

A big three by Sartain, with just about a minute left in the game, tied the ballgame at 78. Brou put in the game-deciding basket with six seconds left, putting Denison on top, 80-78.

Denison shot 47.8% from the field and 33.3% from long distance. The Terriers shot 47.7% from the field and 50.0% from three.

"Our kids played extremely hard and we made some really big plays in the second half," said Head Coach Taylor Roth. "We were unselfish and shared the ball. Unfortunately, we just couldn't climb out of the hole we dug in the first half."

Sartain led the squad with 21 points on six made threes. The 21 points for the Medina, Ohio product is a season-high. Gordon recorded 16 points, with Clingain nearly notching a triple-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Beans Jr. was the other member to reach double figures, scoring 11.

Rubin led Denison with 24 points. Radtke scored the second-highest amount with 12.

Hiram is now 8-14 on the year and 5-10 in conference play.

Three regular season games remain on the schedule for the Terriers. The team next plays at Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 3 p.m.