GREENSBURG, Pennsylvania - November 15, 2023 - There was no quit in the Terriers men's basketball team on Wednesday evening at Chambers Hall.

Hiram overcame a deficit as large as 19 points and outscored Pitt-Greensburg in the second half, 58-35, to roar back and earn its first victory of the season, 89-82.

The Terriers trailed at halftime, 47-31, with the Bobcats shooting over 50% while holding their opposition to a mark below 30% in the first half. Pitt-Greensburg went on an 8-0 run to put Hiram in a tough spot at the intermission.

It was a slow start to the second half, too. Hiram trailed, 57-38, with 15:03 remaining in regulation.

Then came a magical 15-minute stretch of basketball that was spearheaded by Manuel Devora Violan and Trent Jakacki. The duo combined to score 35 of Hiram's 51 points during that span (Devora Violan: 20 | Jakacki: 15). Devora Violan had a career-high 25 points for the entire game and Jakacki had 24 points.

The first three Hiram field goals came on dunks and layups before Devora Violan drilled a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 61-50 with 11:24 remaining. The three-pointer gave Devora Violan seven straight points to keep his team within striking distance.

Ivan Yang added two free throws to trim the margin to single digits, Jakacki converted a three-point play and Devora Violan found his way to the hoop for a layup to bring the score to 61-57 and force a Bobcats timeout. With 10:20 remaining, a comeback win was now within reach.

Pitt-Greensburg was able to hold its ground in the middle portion of the half, eventually regaining an 8-point lead with 6:02 to play. Five different Bobcats student-athletes scored in double-figures in the contest.

Then came a three-point barrage: Jakacki made back-to-back three-pointers, Dushawn Hill made his first three and Jakacki caught fire with yet another three-pointer to give Hiram a 73-72 lead with 3:53 remaining. It was the team's first lead since the 12:22 mark in the first half.

Jakacki made one final three-pointer to carve out a 4-point lead, which would eventually expand to double-digits in the closing moments of the non-conference battle. Devora Violan scored six points in the last 2:11 of the game to seal one of the team's biggest comeback wins in recent history.

Yang finished with 20 rebounds for the second straight game. The defense held Pitt-Greensburg to a 30% FG pct in the second half; Yang, Hill and Jakacki each had multiple steals in the game.

Hiram will seek another win and a perfect week on Saturday, when it travels to Bradford, PA to take on Pitt-Bradford at 3 p.m. inside KOA Arena.