HIRAM, Ohio — The Hiram Terriers fought hard, perhaps harder than the Tigers have seen in recent history. But Wittenberg barely clutched to the lead for a 91-85 win.
With 27 seconds to go, Hiram hit a jumper to make it a two-point game, after a huge, late game surge that brought them back from a 13-point deficit with four minutes to go in the game. But in the foul war that consumed the last 26 seconds of the game, Brandan Barabino (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) hit 4-of-4 free throws, and Gregg Hill (Farmington Hills, Mich./Redford Union) hit 2-of-2 free throws to fend off the scrappy Terriers. Barabino added 10 more points from the field before hitting the salvaging free throws, in the midst of 55% team shooting from the field and a perfect 20-of-20 outing from the free throw stripe.
Mike McDevitt of Hiram stole the show with 43 points total, 30 in the second half, and the Terriers built their late-game surge around his stellar play. The Tigers almost succumbed to his 7-of-10 performance in the second period, but the Red & White responded with 13-of-24 shooting of their own.
Kevin Murray (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) led the Tigers with 18 points and nine rebounds, while consistent playmaker Hill matched Barabino's 14 points and sophomore post Mark Snyder (Celina, Ohio/Parkway Riverside) added 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field to round out the scoring leaders.
The Tigers led by as many as 21, and finished the first half with an 18-point lead. Hiram pushed back but could not finish the job, finishing at 44% from the field and ending the game with 30 rebounds. The Tigers shot 56% from the field, notched 31 boards and won the battle of points in the paint by a 24-28 statistic.
The Tigers gear up for a mid-week matchup against Earlham at home, starting at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The win over Hiram moves the Tigers to 13-6, 9-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
Written by: John Strawn