HIRAM, Ohio – January 14, 2023 – The Hiram men's basketball team came close to picking up its first win of the 2023 calendar year, but a seesaw affair would go in Denison's favor in an 80-76 overtime loss on Saturday afternoon at Price Gymnasium.

Kevin Beans Jr. turned a 67-66 deficit to a 70-67 lead with less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation thanks to a layup and a pair of free throws. The Big Red responded with a three-pointer from Darren Rubin to send the game to overtime.

Denison would score the first 6 points of the extra period and hang on for the win in a game that saw 6 ties and 6 different lead changes.

It was a breakout day for Beans, who had a career-high 23 points on 9-18 shooting from the field over 41 minutes of playing time. Ivan Yang recorded his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Trent Jakacki filled the stat sheet for 11 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block and a steal. Brodgie Gordon also tied a season-high with 4 steals.

The Terriers trailed 12-1 to start the game before finishing the first half on a 14-5 run. Jakacki and Dushawn Hill capped off the rally with a pair of three-pointers within the final 30 seconds to put the deficit at just 1 point (38-37).

The second half saw much more back-and-forth action, with neither team leading by more than 7 points for the entirety of the period. Beans scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half, including the late-game free throws that put Hiram in position for the victory.

Rubin's game-tying three-pointer was one of many contributions from the Denison scoring trio of Ricky Radtke (16 points), Scotty Dean (16) and Rubin himself (team-high 18). Emmett Burnside scored the first 4 points of overtime to help seal the NCAC battle.

Hiram has a chance to return to the win column when it travels to Lancaster, Ohio to take on Ohio University (Lancaster) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.