PHOTO GALLERY

Junior guard Mike Simmons scored a career-high 18 points on 6-for-6 shooting, leading Saint Vincent to an 81-68 win over Hiram in the home opener at the Carey Center.

The game was tied 4-4 when Simmons entered the game and hit his first shot of the night, a three-pointer that turned into a 4-point play when he was fouled and made the free throw.  Up 8-4, Matt D'Amico added a basket to put SVC in front by six.

After the Terriers made it a 12-8 game at the 12 minute mark, Shemar Bennett started a Bearcat rally with a baseline drive.  Coy Patterson, Tom Kromka and Austin Dedert added points as SVC went on a 10-5 run that made the score 24-13.

Later in the half, Hiram cut the gap to six, 28-22, before D'Amico scored on a drive.  With 2:47 remaining, Simmons hit his second three of the night, giving the hosts a 39-28 lead.  He followed with a layup less than a minute later, running the lead to 13, and SVC went into the locker room ahead 43-31.

Simmons wasted no time making his presence known in the second half, hitting a three in the opening minute to make it a 15-point lead.  Near the 15-minute mark, both teams went on an outside shooting spree, started by Josh Duda.  The Terriers quickly answered with a three of their own at the 14:50 mark.  Duda followed on the next trip down the court with another three, followed once again by a Hiram three.  D'Amico countered with a three with 13:37 on the clock.  After Hiram missed a shot on their next possession, Simmons hit two more long distance shots, giving SVC a 65-43 lead.

From there, SVC cruised to the victory, their second in as many games this season.

Simmons hit all five three-point shots on the night, went 1-for-1 from the floor and 1-for-1 from the free throw line.  Kromka added 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Patterson tallied 10 points.  Kromka also dished out 7 assists on the night and blocked two shots.

For Hiram (0-1), Paul Ortiz had 13 points, all in the first half.

The Bearcats will return to action on Tuesday night (November 21) at Chatham University in the Presidents' Athletic Conference opener.  TIpoff will be 8PM.