Ohio Wesleyan 85, Hiram 71

Feb. 9, 2008

Junior wing Kyle Holliday (Van Wert) scored 4 points and junior wing Kyle Miller (Delaware/Hayes) and senior wing Brian Cafarella (Westerville/North) added 3 apiece as Ohio Wesleyan opened the game with a 12-3 run and held off a Hiram comeback to take North Coast Athletic Conference win over the Terriers on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Holliday's lay-in just over a minute into the game put the Bishops on the scoreboard, and senior post Jesse Jean (Alexandria, Va./Hyde (Conn.) School) and Holliday followed with buckets as the Bishops increased the lead to 6-1.

After Mike McDevitt got Hiram's first basket of the game, Miller converted a 3-point play with 14:32 in the half, and Cafarella followed with a 3-pointer to give Ohio Wesleyan a 12-3 lead with 14:10 to go.

Leading, 28-17, the Bishops threatened to put the game out of reach with a 6-0 run that included a 3-point play by Jean and a 3-pointer from senior post Dustin Rudegeair (Yellow Springs), and Ohio Wesleyan stretched that lead to 20 points on Cafarella's 3-pointer with just under 5 minutes left in the first half.

The Terriers clawed away at the deficit, closing to within 44-32 on Nick Russo's jumper from the lane with :45 left in the half, but Ohio Wesleyan seized the momentum going into the intermission, with Cafarella knocking down a 3-pointer, and after a Hiram turnover, getting a buzzer-beating bank shot from the lane by sophomore guard Robby Gardiner (Dublin/Coffman) to take a 49-32 lead at the break.

Hiram clawed away at the deficit, with Hassan Muhammed hitting a pair of lay-ins and Mike McDevitt draining a 3-pointer during a 7-0 run that brought the Terriers within 56-45 with 13:50 left in regulation time. The Terriers got within 66-57 on Glenn Campbell's lay-in with 7:16 to play, and when Mike Staley hit a jumper with 4:55 on the clock, Hiram had narrowed the margin to 69-61. Jean answered with a jumper from the lane for Ohio Wesleyan, but Campbell scored on a third-chance putback to once again make it an 8-point game at 71-63 with 4:01 to go.

Rudegeair answered with a 3-pointer on Ohio Wesleyan's next possession, and after McDevitt hit one of 2 free throws with 3:28 to play, Rudegeair scored again, this time on a lay-in for a 76-64 Ohio Wesleyan lead with 3:09 remaining, and the Bishop lead would remain in double digits for the rest of the game.

Jean led the Bishops with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Cafarella finished with 15 points, Rudegeair added 13 points and Holliday had 12 points. Gardiner led the Bishops with 4 assists.

McDevitt led the Terriers with 24 points and Mike Staley finished with 17 points. Muhammed led all players with 13 rebounds, while Russo had 4 assists for Hiram.

Box Score