HIRAM, Ohio – November 21, 2024 – Hiram crashed the boards all night, totaling 20 more rebounds than its opposition as part of a 90-74 win over Pitt-Greensburg on Thursday evening at Price Gymnasium.
The Terriers, who were coming off a convincing victory over the defending PAC Champions in Geneva, picked up right where they left off, riding the hot shooting of
Trent Jakacki and totaling 25 second-chance points to roll to another win.
Jakacki finished with 28 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, while
Ivan Yang added 12 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. The bench contributions were also evident between sophomore
Galdan Batzorig and freshman
Collin Jones, who combined for 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Jakacki set the tone right from the start, scoring 17 of his team's first 21 points, which included a go-ahead three-pointer to give the Terriers a 21-19 lead. The senior guard finished the half with 21 points, which already gave him a second 20-point game on the season (25 points vs Pitt-Bradford on Nov. 9).
The rest of the first half had a back-and-forth rhythm to it, with neither team leading by more than eight points. Hiram grabbed that eight-point lead on a dunk by Jones with 5:53 remaining in the half (31-23), but the Bobcats fought back and made it a two-point game at the intermission.
Hiram made its move at the start of the second half, ripping off a 20-9 run over the first four minutes and seven seconds of the half. Jones drilled a three-pointer and converted a steal into another two points, while
Mitchell Wiechecki tipped in a layup to make it a 59-46 advantage.
Then came the hard-fought effort of Yang, who finished the contest with 10 offensive rebounds. Hiram had six second-chance points off of Yang's offensive rebounds in the second half alone, pulling ahead by as many as 19 points before closing it out for the 90-74 victory.
The Terriers will officially play three games in four days when the week comes to an end; the team's next two games during the busy stretch will come at the Lauren Hill Tip-Off Class on the campus of Mount St. Joseph. The team will play Alma on Saturday at 6 p.m. before taking on Albion on Sunday at 4 p.m.
