The Denison Big Red picked up a key 81-74 victory over Hiram College on Saturday from Livingston Gymnasium in Granville.

The Terriers rallied to trim a 10-point deficit to four, but a dunk by senior Larry Farmer with 44 seconds left in the first extended the DU lead to 40-34.  On the ensuing possession, senior Mike Garabedian came up with a steal and, with 1.2 seconds remaining, drew a shooting foul behind the arc.  After knocking down two of three at the charity stripe, the Big Red entered the locker room with a 42-34 lead.

A three-pointer by senior Brett Tiberi to open the second-half scoring sparked a 16-7 DU run that spanned the opening 6:46 of the period.  In addition to Tiberi's three, Dimonde Hale scored four points, Alex Longi chipped in three, and Marr Mansfield, Farmer and Bret Woolard all added two.

Down 58-42 with 12:30 to play, Hiram methodically chipped away at the Big Red lead.  Over the next 8+ minutes the Terriers outscored Denison 25-12, shrinking the margin to three.  During that stretch, the Hiram went 4-for-6 from three-point range.  Andrew Wiegand led the charge with eight points, while Aaron Stefanov, Tom Herchek and Alan Sheppard all logged five tallies.

Ahead 72-69 with just under three to play, Garabedian took an entry pass from Longi, laid it in and drew the foul.  After the whistle, Hiram's Jamaal Watkins was called for an additional technical foul for shoving Garabedian.  Senior Jim Leffew converted both free throw attempts to push the DU lead to seven.  Hale tacked on the sixth point of the possession with a layup in the paint.

After two initial misses on Hiram's next trip down the floor, Justin Wisniewski found Stefanov for a three to trim the deficit to six.  After a one-and-done for the Big Red, Watkins scored in the paint to shrink the margin to 78-74.

Out of a Big Red timeout, Farmer found Tiberi for a huge three in the corner with 27 seconds on the clock.  Hale closed the door on the Terriers with a defensive rebound with nine seconds remaining in regulation.

The Big Red shot 49 percent (30-for-61) from the field and turned 11 Hiram turnovers into 17 points.  Denison also scored 38 of their 81 points in the paint.  Hiram hit 47 percent (27-for-58) from the floor and 42 percent (10-for-24) from three-point range.  DU held a 34-33 edge on the boards and committed a season-low tying eight turnovers.

Hale led all scorers with 23 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Farmer finished with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.  Longi flirted with a triple-double following a 10 point, eight rebound and seven assist performance, while Leffew and Garabedian both chipped in 10 tallies off the bench.

Watkins finished with a double-double after logging 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Wiegand posted a team-leading 21 points, nine boards, four assists and three steals.  Sheppard added 14 points and seven assists, while Stefanov had 12 points.

Denison improves to 9-12 overall and 6-6 in NCAC action, while Hiram falls to 12-9 and 5-7 in league play.  DU returns to action on Wednesday (Feb. 8) when they travel to DePauw University.  Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.

Note: Prior to the game Denison recognized seniors Robbie Deaton, Larry Farmer, Mike Garabedian, Jim Leffew, Marr Mansfield, Casey Stockton and Brett Tiberi.