Thiel (2-3) and Hiram (1-4) battled back and fourth early in the opening half before the Tomcats were able to to jump out to a five-point lead (21-16) on a lay up by freshman forward Joe Herrmann with 7:26 remaining in the first.
Thiel was clinging to a three-point edge (34-31) with under a minute to play, but a lay up by Carlton Dean with just three seconds in the half closed the gap to one (34-33) going into the break.
A Brandon Pool lay up followed by a pair of free throws from T.C. Spencer put the Terriers on top 37-34 early in the second. The Tomcats fought back over the next 5:22 and on a three-pointer by junior guard C.J. Hunt stepped out to a seven-point lead (56-49).
Senior guard Daryl Moore put the Tomcats back up by seven (66-59) with his three at the 8:07 mark, but the Terriers rallied with an 8-0 run over the next 57 seconds to take a 67-66 lead with 7:02 to play.
A three by junior guard Henry Passerrello put Thiel back up by seven with 1:25 remaining in the half before Pool answered with a three of his own to trim the Tomcat lead to four (82-78) with 1:09 to go.
Passerrello was not to be outdone and extended Thiel's lead back to seven with his third three-pointer of the night, giving the Tomcats an 85-78 lead with 37 seconds to play. A.J. White buried a three with 16 seconds remaining to cut the Tomcat lead down to four (85-81) before Williams sank a pair of free throws late to seal the six-point win.
Thiel finished with five players in double figures, led by Williams' 20-point effort. Herrmann finished with 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds, junior forward Percy Sweeting totaled 14 points and six boards, Moore added 13 points, five assists and four rebounds and Passerrello chipped in with 11.
Dean topped the Terriers scoring list with a game-best 26 points. Pool finished with 14 and White and T.C. Spencer added 13 and 11 points, respectively.
The Tomcats shot a season-best 53.2 percent (33-62) from the floor and hit 54.5 percent (12-22) of their three-point attempts. Thiel also finished with a 32-31 advantage on the boards.
Thiel returns to action on Monday, December 6 when they host Penn State-Altoona. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Hiram College vs Thiel College (Pa.) 12-1-04 7:30 pm at Greenville, Pa. - Beeghly Gymnasium At Greenville, Pa. - Beeghly Gymnasium THIEL COLLEGE (PA.) 87, HIRAM COLLEGE 81 HIRAM COLLEGE (1-4) Carlton Dean 10-18 5-7 26; Brandon Pool 6-9 1-1 14; A.J. White 5-12 2-2 13; T.C. Spencer 3-5 5-6 11; DaJuan Whiteside 2-5 1-1 5; Chuck Williams 0-2 4-4 4; Allen Kirkpatrick 1-1 2-2 4; Rick Baldwin 0-0 2-2 2; Michael McDevitt 0-1 2-2 2; Mervyn Jones 0-0 0-1 0; Leonard Wright 0-0 0-0 0; Alan Lottinville 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-54 24-28 81. THIEL COLLEGE (PA.) (2-3) Damien Williams 8-12 1-2 20; Joe Herrmann 7-11 2-4 16; Percy Sweeting 5-8 3-7 14; Daryl Moore 5-9 0-0 13; Henry Passerrello 3-5 2-2 11; CJ Hunt 3-4 1-1 9; Ryan Singleton 1-6 0-0 2; Stephen Laird 1-5 0-0 2; Max Slater 0-2 0-0 0; Alberic Kande 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-62 9-16 87. Hiram College................. 33 48 - 81 Thiel College (Pa.)........... 34 53 - 87 3-point goals-Hiram College 3-15 (Brandon Pool 1-2; A.J. White 1-7; Carlton Dean 1-3; Chuck Williams 0-2; Alan Lottinville 0-1), Thiel College (Pa.) 12-22 (Damien Williams 3-4; Daryl Moore 3-5; Henry Passerrello 3-5; CJ Hunt 2-3; Percy Sweeting 1-2; Stephen Laird 0-1; Joe Herrmann 0-2). Fouled out--Hiram College-T.C. Spencer, Thiel College (Pa.)-None. Rebounds-Hiram College 31 (DaJuan Whiteside 7; T.C. Spencer 7), Thiel College (Pa.) 32 (Joe Herrmann 8). Assists-Hiram College 6 (Brandon Pool 2; A.J. White 2), Thiel College (Pa.) 13 (Daryl Moore 5). Total fouls-Hiram College 15, Thiel College (Pa.) 22. A-410