HIRAM, Ohio – The Hiram College Terriers went on a late 7-0 run Saturday and then closed out a 58-55 victory with four free throws against the visiting Kenyon College men's basketball team. In a strange twist, the loss for the Lords did not cost them a spot in next week's North Coast Athletic Conference tournament.

After Kenyon junior Bennett Grigull completed a layup with 2:32 left in the game, the Lords held a 52-47 advantage over the Terriers. Grigull then committed a foul that led to a pair of Hiram free throws. Thirty seconds later, Hiram's Kelvin Jones' sank a three-pointer to tie the game. Forty seconds after that, Jones converted two more free throws to give Hiram a 54-52 lead with 1:11 showing on the clock.

Kenyon (5-20, 4-14 NCAC) got the ball back, missed a shot, got the rebound and called a timeout. When the Lords returned to the floor, junior Alexander Powell snared a pass from Ryan O'Neil, finished off a layup and drew a foul. He knocked down the ensuing free throw to give the Lords a 55-54 edge with just 37 seconds left.

That, however, would be the Lords' last bucket. Kenyon missed its final two field goal attempts, while Hiram (11-14, 8-10 NCAC) stole the victory with a pair of free throws from both Paul Ortiz and Ryan Greenwood.

As the final score indicated, it was a close game in which the defenses dominated. There were eight lead changes throughout the game and neither team got ahead by more than nine points. Kenyon shot just 29.5 percent (18-of-61) and turned the ball over 17 times, while Hiram fired at a forgettable 28.6 percent (16-of-56) and committed 15 turnovers.

While most other stats were similar between the two teams, the difference in the contest occurred at the foul line. Kenyon shot well there, going 13-of-15 (86.7 percent), but at the other end of the floor, the Lords committed a season-high 27 fouls, putting the Terriers at the line 30 times. They sank 22 of those attempts, including a 12-of-14 showing (85.7 percent) in the second half.

In the scoring department, Grigull and Phillip Crampton notched 15 and 13 points, respectively, while Powell finished with 11. Ethan Shapiro and Carter Powell each grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, while O'Neil handed out six assists.

Jones did most of the damage for Hiram, as he put up game-highs of 18 points and 17 rebounds.

The final result triggered a series of tie-breaking rules in which the Lords gained the eighth and final spot in the NCAC Tournament.

Both Kenyon and Allegheny entered Saturday's games with 4-13 conference records and both lost. The NCAC's first tie-breaker is head-to-head competition, but Kenyon and Allegheny split their season series. The NCAC's second tie-breaker is the combined win-loss record against all teams above the tied teams in the conference standings. Kenyon and Allegheny had identical 2-12 records in that regard, so on to the third NCAC tie-breaker: record versus individual opponents examined in descending order of standings. Kenyon had a win over Hiram earlier in the year and Allegheny had a win over DePauw. Through the same series of tie-breaker rules, Hiram's win Saturday gave the Terriers a fifth place spot in the standings over DePauw, which settled into sixth place.

The bottom line being Kenyon will play at top-seeded Ohio Wesleyan University on Tuesday evening in the opening round of the NCAC Tournament.