HIRAM, Ohio - January 7, 2026 - Hiram found a spark in the second half, but a late surge wasn't enough in a 72-63 loss to Geneva on Wednesday evening at Metheny Fieldhouse.

After facing a 14-point deficit at the half (41-27), Hiram cut the margin all the way down to 2 points thanks to a 9-0 run, which was capped by a Liam Gopalakrishna 3-pointer. Shortly thereafter, Gopalakrishna nailed another triple to keep it a one-possession game.

It was back-and-forth the rest of the way, with Hiram trimming the margin to 2 points on two other occasions. Manuel Devora Violan had 6 of his team-high 14 points in the final frame, but Geneva never surrendered its lead and eventually held on for the victory.

DJ Niles added 12 points and 10 rebounds, extending his double-digit scoring streak to four straight games, which is the longest such streak of his three-year collegiate career. Gopalakrishna matched his teammate with 12 points for a bench unit that had 38 of the team's 63 points for the entire game.

On the opposing end, Geneva's Jonathan Bertovich and Tommy Coletti combined for 47 points to lead all scorers in the game.

Hiram will look to pick up its first conference win of the season on Saturday, when it hosts Bethany at 3 p.m. inside Price Gymnasium in Hiram, OH.