SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - A three-point home win over perennial powerhouse Wittenberg in December served notice that the Hiram Terriers were a force to be reckoned with in the 2008-09 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship race. A 79-75 victory on the Tigers' home floor nearly two months later thrust the Terriers into the NCAC lead.
Wittenberg dropped to 9-9 overall and 6-4 in the NCAC with the loss, while Hiram improved to 13-5 overall and 9-1 in the conference. Coupled with a loss by preseason favorite Wooster at Ohio Wesleyan, the Terriers are now in solo possession of first place in the NCAC heading into a home game against the Scots on Wednesday. The Tigers are now in a fourth-place tie with Kenyon, two games behind Wooster and OWU for second place.
A tense, well-played, hard-fought game came down to the final minutes. Hiram had the upper hand, however, thanks to the game's only decisive scoring run midway through the second half and some clutch shooting down the stretch. After Wittenberg sophomore wing Kyle Peterson (Caledonia, Ohio/River Valley)drilled a three-pointer at the 12:08 mark to narrow the deficit to one point, Hiram outscored Wittenberg 17-6 over the next seven minutes to take a commanding 70-58 lead with 5:42 to play.
The Tigers responded with a 12-2 run, capped by an improbable layup in traffic by senior wing Kevin Murray (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) with 2:14 remaining that made it 72-70. The Terriers were absolutely clutch from that point, however, answering each of Wittenberg's last three baskets - Murray's layup, a three-pointer from junior guard David Nowicki (Carmel, Ind./Westfield) and a layup from Nowicki - with scores of their own. The final sequence went Hiram's way as well, as Murray's jumper with two seconds left against a triple team on the low block was off the mark.
The final statistics were all but even in most categories, as Wittenberg shot 44 percent from the field to Hiram's 46 percent and each team made 10 three-pointers. The difference in the game was rebounding as the hungry Terriers chased down 41 caroms, compared to 30 for the Tigers. Fourteen of Hiram's rebounds came at the offensive end, leading to a 22-9 advantage in second-chance points.
Individually, the Tigers were paced by Murray with 15 points, four rebounds and two assists. Freshman wing Josh McKee (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Nowicki and junior post Mark Snyder (Celina, Ohio/Riverside) contributed 10 points piece.
The Tigers now hit the home stretch of a rollercoaster season with their work cut out for them in what can still be considered a wide-open NCAC race. A three-game road trip starts at Earlam at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4.