HIRAM, Ohio - November 20, 2022 - Hiram set the tone early and played dominant basketball on both ends of the court in a 98-68 victory over Bluffton on Sunday. The Terriers have won seven of their last eight home games dating back to last season, including all three this season.

"We just have really good fans. It's a unique venue. We feel like we have a real homecourt advantage every time we play here," head coach Taylor Roth said of playing at Price Gymnasium.

The win was the program's first by 30+ points since Dec. 30, 2018, when it beat Kent State - Tuscarawas by a 31-point margin (97-66). Trent Jakacki led the way with a career-high 26 points on 10-11 shooting from the field, while Brodgie Gordon and Kevin Beans Jr. each scored 16 points. Ricky Esdel shot a perfect 5-5 and finished with a career-high 14 points to cap off the offensive production.

"Brodgie's leadership and just how calm he is really has such a positive effect on the group," Roth said. "Trent is just getting better every week as he gets more comfortable with what we do. We're not surprised at all when he has a breakout game."

It was a quick start for the Terriers, who scored the first 10 points of the game while holding Bluffton to an 0-4 mark from the field. For the entire first half, Hiram held Blufton to a 33.3% FG pct (10-30) and an 0-6 clip from beyond the perimeter.

"We did a good job tonight of having all five guys playing the ball," Roth said. "We play hard and we're all guarding the ball together. We can be pretty good defensively."

Hiram went 10-13 on three-point field goals over the first 20 minutes, including consecutive three-pointers by Gordon to bring the score to 55-22 in the final minutes of the half. Gordon finished the first half with 4 three-pointers and has scored at least 14 points in every game this season.

For Jakacki, the 90.1% FG pct (10-11) is the 5th-best mark in a single game in Hiram program history (min. 8 FG made). Kelvin Jones was the last Terriers player to reach that percentage (or higher) in a game, doing so with a 100% mark against Ohio Wesleyan back in 2017.

The Terriers will play their final game before Thanksgiving on Tuesday at Calvin at 7:30 p.m. The Knights enter play with a 4-0 record this season.