WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team used a 24-4 second-half run to erase a 14-point deficit as the Presidents downed Hiram 81-74 at the Salvitti Family Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
 
W&J moves to 5-1 on the season and remains unbeaten at home (3-0) while Hiram falls to 2-3.
 
The Terriers led 58-44 with 13:10 remaining in regulation following a Jalen Kirksey three-pointer, handing the visitors their largest lead of the afternoon.
 
W&J reeled off eight-straight points with three-pointers by Jacob Davenport (Camberley, England/Charnwood College) and Zach Queen (Jeannette, Pa./Hempfield Area), along with two free throws from Nicholas Campalong (Sewickley, Pa./Ambridge) to trim the deficit to 58-52 with 11:16 left in the second half.
 
Following a Hiram layup, the Presidents scored the next five points on an three-pointer by AJ Blue (Kensington, Md./Sidwell Fiends (D.C.)) and a pair of free throws by Alexander Skowron (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley). Hiram responded again with a basket to lead 62-57 with 9:26 remaining.
 
The Presidents finally re-took the lead with 11-consecutive points, highlighted by a pair of Davenport threes and a three-point play by Blue to take the lead.
 
W&J stretched its lead to 74-67 with 4:14 remaining, but Hiram would not go quietly. The Terriers scored the next five points to cut the President lead to 74-72 with 3:03 left. Cameron Seemann's (Loveland, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller) three-point play with 1:46 showing on the clock gave W&J a five-point cushion.
 
Following two free throws and a W&J turnover, Hiram had the ball down three with under a minute remaining but missed its game-tying attempt.  Primo Zini (Morgantown, W.Va./Trinity Christian) made three free throws in the final minute to secure the win.
 
W&J trailed 43-32 at halftime as Hiram shot 50% (18-of-36) from the field while W&J was 13-of-35 (37%) in the first half. Okikiola Agbale (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) poured in 14 of his career-high 18 points in the first half to keep the Presidents within striking distance for the second-half rally.
 
Eight Presidents finished with at least six points in the win. Queen knocked down four threes to finish with 12 points. Davenport had three three-pointers and added a dozen as well, all in the second half.
 
Blue led the Presidents with 28 minutes, playing the final 16:43 of regulation and chipping in eight points and a career-best five assists. Zini added eight points and seven rebounds while Seemann had six points and seven rebounds.
 
W&J connected on nine threes, seven in the second half, and shot 18-of-25 (77.8%) from the free throw line.
 
The Presidents host Mount St. Joseph next Saturday at 3:00 p.m.