Posted: Dec 12, 2018
HIRAM, OH -- La Roche staved off a charging Hiram squad to hold on for an 80-78 victory in a thriller on Wednesday evening. The victory is the Redhawks' seventh straight as they improve to 7-1 on the season.
The Redhawks trailed by many as nine points midway through the first half. La Roche inched their back by dominating the glass. They held Hiram without a basket for over a four minute stretch while taking a 32-28 lead. Ryan Norkus opened the run with four straight points while Tyler Frederick capped it with four straight.
An Austin Hannes three-pointer gave the Redhawks a 39-33 lead with 2:43 left in the half. Hiram closed the gap to 42-40 at intermission. Norkus and Frederick each had 10 first half points.
Hiram tied it early in the second half and ran out to a 58-50 lead with 11:25 left. The Redhawks responded with eight straight points and Shawn Dunnings evened it with a layup.
The Terriers tried to pull away but La Roche had an answer on every possession. The Redhawks grabbed their first lead since the 14:47 mark when Zach Gould buried a three with 2:06 left.
RayQuan Phifer forced a steal and ran the length of the floor on the following possession. A Gould three-pointer put La Roche ahead 77-69 with 1:15 to go.
It looked like the Redhawks were about to run away with it, but two straight threes got Hiram within three with 41 seconds left. The Terriers hit a pair of free throws for a 78-77 deficit just nine seconds later.
Phifer sunk a free throw to go back ahead 79-77. The Terriers had a chance to tie it at the line, but they made just one of two free throws. Frederick converted a free throw on the opposite end and Hiram's attempt at the buzzer came up short.
Frederick registered a double-double and led all scorers with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Gould finished with 15 points and Norkus 10 points.
La Roche outscored Hiram in the paint 48-22. They return to play on Saturday when they host Hilbert. Tip is 4pm.