GAMBIER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College Lords men's basketball team closed the book on the 2017-18 season Saturday afternoon, falling to the Hiram College Terriers, 87-75. Prior to the game, the Lords celebrated the careers of four seniors: Alex Laub, Phillip Crampton, Alexander Powell and Will Sigl.

Hiram came out of the gates strong, building a 13-5 advantage after less than five minutes of action. Kenyon responded with a 9-0 run and the game was tied at 15 with 11:16 to go in the first half.

Neither team separated from the other until late in the first half, when Hiram built a 32-25 edge with four minutes left. Kenyon responded once again, scoring on their next three possessions to tie the game back up at 32-32, but Hiram closed out the half on 6-0 run, including a Jalen Kirksey put-back at the buzzer to take a 38-32 lead into the break.

The Terriers kept up the intensity to start the second half and tilted the game more into their favor. Hiram scored nine points in the first 2:25 of the half to take a 10-point lead. Kenyon would not go away, though, and battled back with a 9-0 run to bring the game back to a one-point deficit. Laub scored six of those nine points.

That, however, would be as close as Kenyon would get. The Terriers scored 20 of the game's next 26 points and built a 67-52 lead with 7:13 to play. The Lords brought the deficit down to nine points with 2:55 to play, but their comeback attempt fell short.

Laub headlined the seniors' performances, recording a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Powell hit double figures, as well, with 10 points, three assists and two rebounds. Sigl dropped in four points with two blocks, while Crampton scored two points and collected two boards.

Junior guard Matt Shifrin scored a game-high 20 points for Kenyon, while Ben Stern tossed in 10. Shifrin shot 5-for-8 from three-point range and finished the season above 40-percent from long distance.

Hiram had five players score at least 12 points, including Kelvin Jones who recorded 16 points to go along with 14 rebounds. Paul Ortiz also scored 16 for the Terriers, including four three-point field goals.

The Lords concluded the 2017-18 campaign with a 7-18 overall record and a 4-14 conference record, finishing ninth in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings. Hiram moved to 15-10 overall and 11-7 in the NCAC. The Terriers will enter the postseason conference tournament as the No. 4 seed.