DELAWARE, Ohio - February 18, 2023 - Hiram was neck-and-neck with Ohio Wesleyan before the Battling Bishops pulled away in a 88-74 loss on Saturday afternoon at Branch Rickey Arena. 

The loss wraps up the regular season for the Terriers, who finish with an 11-14, 5-11 NCAC record and the No. 7 seed in the NCAC Tournament. They will play the quarterfinal round against No. 2 Wabash on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

The two teams were tied at the intermission, 39-39, with Hiram outrebounding the Battling Bishops (17-15) and forcing 7 turnovers on the defensive end during that span.

Freshman Noah Adams, who finished with a career-high 22 points, scored 14 points in the first half on 4-6 shooting from the field and 5-5 shooting from the free-throw line. Ricky Esdel was also active in the half, grabbing nearly as many offensive rebounds (4) as the entire Ohio Wesleyan roster (5).

The later stages of the second half saw the Battling Bishops take control, highlighted by 13 consecutive points after Hiram had a 10-0 run of its own. That change in momentum brought the score to 81-68 with 1:53 remaining.

Brodgie Gordon had 15 of his 22 points in the second half to cap off his regular-season career with the Terriers. He finishes with 372 career assists, which is tied with AJ White for the 2nd-most in program history (Steve Fleming, 510). His 1,387 career points also ranks 9th in program history.

Kevin Beans Jr.'s last regular-season game was strong, too, with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. He tied Trent Jakacki with a team-high 35 minutes in the game.

Hiram will take the next two days to prepare for Wabash, who won both of the previous meetings between the two teams this season by 16 and 10 points. Live video of the event can be found here.