NEWARK, New Jersey - November 11, 2023 - A big weekend at the John K. Adams Tip-Off Classic came to a close for Hiram men's basketball on Saturday, as the Terriers fell to the host of the tournament, Rutgers-Newark, by a score of 74-65 inside The Golden Dome.
The loss finishes up a busy week for the Terriers, who played three games in a span of 90 hours across two states. Despite the loss on Saturday, the team played well in the second half of the game, outscoring the Scarlet Raiders, 37-33.
Junior Trent Jakacki capped off his first week in style, recording a game-high 26 points. With 21 points on Friday against Wesleyan, it marks the second time Jakacki has recorded consecutive 20-point games in his collegiate career (also last season vs Pitt Greensburg and Pitt Bradford). For his efforts over the two days, Jakacki was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Hiram trailed by 13 points at the end of the first half, with Rutgers-Newark shooting close to 50 percent during that span. The Terriers outrebounded their opposition, 20-9, but were outscored, 8-2, over the final 3:13 of the period.
The momentum shifted to the road team in the second half, with Hiram going on an 11-2 run from the 11:18 to 7:59 marks. Jakacki had five points during that span and totaled 14 points for the second half alone.Â
Dushawn Hill also made an impact in the later stages of the contest, knocking in a pair of three-pointers at the start of the second half and another five points over the last two minutes. Eleven of the sophomore's 13 points in the game were in the second half.
Hiram's defense also was a point of emphasis in the second half; the Terriers didn't allow a three-point field goal for the entirety of the second half (Rutgers-Newark: 0-9). The Scarlet Knights were able to hold on thanks to five made free throws down the stretch.
Ivan Yang recorded a career-high 20 rebounds in the game to lift Hiram to the rebounding advantage in the game, 44-23. Yang became the first Terriers student-athlete to record 20+ rebounds in a single game since Kelvin Jones had 22 rebounds against Allegheny in 2017.
The Terriers will head back to Ohio before eventually hitting the road again on Wednesday, when they take on Pitt-Greensburg at 7:30 p.m. from Chambers Hall Gymnasium.
