HAMBURG, New York – December 16, 2022 – Hiram continued to play some of its best basketball in the second half, erasing a deficit as large as 14 points to come back and beat Hilbert, 87-84, on Friday evening at the Brad Hafner Recreation Center.

The Terriers outscored their opposition, 48-39, in the second half to win a 4^th straight game, their longest win streak since winning 6 straight games in December 2017. It's also the program's longest win streak under head coach Taylor Roth.

It furthers the team's recent success in battling its way back into games; in the month of December alone, Hiram has beaten Wittenberg, Oberlin and now Hilbert despite trailing at halftime in each of those contests.

Doug Sartain paced the offense with a team-high 19 points, which included his 4^th career game with at least 5 three-pointers. Brodgie Gordon recorded 16 points and 8 assists, while Ricky Esdel had a strong effort on both ends of the floor with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Hiram trailed 45-39 at halftime and 63-49 with 12:39 remaining in the second half. They were outscored 18-10 coming out of the intermission.

Things quickly changed for the last 12 minutes of the non-conference game.

The Terriers responded with an 8-0 run to cut the margin to 6, an outburst that was fueled by high-percentage plays around the basket. Ivan Yang and Gordon made a pair of layups before Max Johnson and Trent Jakacki each drew fouls and knocked down 4 consecutive free throws.

Hilbert would keep the lead until there was 3:57 left in regulation, when Sartain knocked down a three-pointer to level the tally at 74-74. Moments later, Sartain drilled another 3-pt FG to give the team its first lead of the entire second half.

Gordon would take control for the remainder of the game, scoring 6 of Hiram's final 10 points to secure the victory and keep the winning streak alive.

The Terriers will return home on Dec. 30 against Adrian in hopes of keeping a pair of winning streaks alive; they've won 6 straight home games dating back to last season and 4 straight games overall.