HOT SHOOTING TERRIERS TOO MUCH FOR SPARTAN MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

CLEVELAND, OH – The Hiram College men's basketball team connected on 13 three-pointers and forced 21 turnovers in a 103-69 victory versus Case Western Reserve University on Saturday, December 18 at Horsburgh Gymnasium.

Hiram improved to 7-4, while the Spartans dropped to 2-6. The Terriers had three players in double-figures, including freshman guard Aaron Stefanov who scored all 20 of his points in the first half on 6-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. The Spartans had four players in double-figures with junior forward Tom Summers (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional) totaling a team-high 16 points.

In the first half, Case trailed by three before sophomore forward Austin Fowler (Farmington Hills, MI/Brother Rice) converted a three-point play to tie the score at 12 at the 13:19 mark. Hiram answered with five straight en route to a 20-9 run and led 31-20 when Nick Russo nailed a three-pointer with 9:11 left in the half.

The Spartans briefly cut the deficit to nine, at 31-22, when sophomore guard Robert Scott (Paoli, PA/Conestoga) hit two free throws at 8:57, but the Terriers once again answered with a 9-0 run ending in back-to-back three-pointers by Stefanov and Andrew Weigand that made the score 43-25 with 5:44 left before half.  

Case battled back with an 8-0 run and trailed 43-33 when Summers canned a jumper at 3:29, but the Terriers were able to re-build their advantage to 19, at 56-37, thanks to a 13-4 run ending with another Stefanov triple with eight seconds remaining in the period.

At the break, the Terriers were shooting 57.6 percent (19-of-33) from the field, including 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from three-point range. The Spartans also committed 11 turnovers to only four for Hiram.

The Terriers didn't let up in the second half, opening on an 8-0 run culminating in a fast-break layup by Babajide Eniola that made the score 64-37 at 15:41. The Spartans were unable to get their deficit below 22 the rest of the way, falling 103-69.

For the game, Hiram attempted 31 more shots than the Spartans (68-37) and held a 33-21 rebounding advantage. The Terriers shot 58.8 percent from the field (40-of-68), including 56.5 percent from three-point range (13-of-23).

The Spartans return to action on Wednesday and Thursday, December 29-30 as hosts of the annual Bill Sudeck Holiday Tournament. Kalamazoo College (MI) and Geneva College (PA) open the action on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. The Spartans play Earlham College in the nightcap at 8:00 p.m. The tournament consolation and championship games are set for 2 and 4 p.m., respectively, on Thursday.