WAYNESBURG, Pennsylvania - December 30, 2024 - Hiram erased a 15-point deficit and took a second-half lead, but couldn't hang on against a future PAC foe in Waynesburg, 78-76, on Monday afternoon at Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.
The Terriers trailed, 35-20, with 6:15 left in the first half before cutting it to a 1-point margin at halftime. Hiram then grabbed a 52-51 lead with 13:34 remaining in the second half on a Tristan Martin-Marshall slam dunk, but the home team responded with a 7-0 run and held that lead through the final buzzer.
Trent Jakacki was in midseason form, racking up 23 points on 8-16 shooting from the field and 7-10 shooting from the charity stripe. He also added team-highs in rebounds (eight, tied with Ivan Yang) and steals (three, tied with Manuel Devora Violan) over a game-high 34 minutes.
Yang had 12 points and eight rebounds off the Hiram bench, with Brock Makrancy (10 points), Galdan Batzorig (9 points, four rebounds) and Devora Violan (6 points, four rebounds, two assists, three steals) filling out the other notable contributions.
The game was tight throughout, but the Yellow Jackets did just enough for the win thanks to its advantage in FG shooting (50%, 30-60). Hiram had 18 second-chance points – Jakacki and Batzorig each added three offensive rebounds in the gritty effort – but couldn't gain a lead larger than one possession in an entertaining second half of action.
Waynesburg's Casey Keesee, who finished with a career-high 20 points, scored 8 consecutive points to give his team a 32-18 lead with 7:46 remaining in the opening period. Then came a fury of offense, with the Terriers scoring inside the paint, beyond the perimeter and at the free-throw line to cut the deficit to 44-43 at the intermission. Makrancy had a pair of 3-pointers and Jaden Hameed added 5 points down the stretch of the half to fuel the comeback effort.
There was a much different feel to the second half, with 2:21 of game time elapsing before either team registered points. Hiram found its form and took that aforementioned lead on Martin-Marshall's dunk, a testament to the team's mental fortitude in what had now turned out to be a grind-it-out road battle.
Waynesburg gained some separation by holding Hiram to a 38% FG pct in the second half; Keesee and PJ Suggs (17 points) were also consistent sources of offense in the Yellow Jackets backcourt. The home team also took advantage of 12 missed free throws from the Terriers to earn the tightly contested win.
Hiram will return to conference play and begin its most important stretch of the season on Saturday, when it hosts DePauw at 3 p.m. inside Price Gymnasium.
