TIFFIN, Ohio - The Dragons used a late first half run to take a three-point lead into intermission, but the Warriors rallied in the second half as Tiffin (2-7, 0-5 GLIAC) fell to Wayne State (8-1, 5-0 GLIAC) 91-81 Saturday afternoon (Dec. 18) at the Gillmor Center.
Tiffin outrebounded Wayne State 48-34 for the game and outscored the Warriors' bench 27-11, but the Warriors took advantage of 16 TU turnovers for 15 points. WSU also hit 31-61 (50.8%) shots from the field in the game compared to 28-68 (41.2%) from the field for Tiffin.
Freshman Joe Graessle led the Dragons with 25 points, hitting six shots from behind the arc for the second time this season. Brandon Harris came off the bench with 13 points, nine boards and four blocks while Keenan Barlow added 10 rebounds and eight points. Karl Finley narrowly missed a triple-double with nine points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
For Wayne State, Mike Hollingswoth scored a game-high 28 points while Bryan Smothers chipped in 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Ian Larkin scored 12 points and nine rebounds while Jerry Oden added 12 points and eight boards.
The Dragons took an 18-14 advantage less than five minutes into the game on a Barlow three before Smothers answered with his own shot behind the arc for WSU that ignited a 16-1 Warrior run over the next five minutes. After the run, Graessle responded with a three-point play the hard way for Tiffin. Following a Finley steal, Travis Spahr went to the line for a one-and-one after being fouled. He hit the first and missed the second, but Spahr was fouled when he grabbed the offensive board and hit both free throws to bring TU within five with 8:22 left in the half. Wayne State pushed it back to nine, but back-to-back threes by Spahr and Graessle quickly brought the deficit to three.
Wayne State was able to hold off Tiffin for most of the half, but a Harris dunk with authority with three minutes left in the half brought the home crowd to their feet and Tiffin within 42-39. Harris recorded the block on the defensive end, Barlow grabbed the rebound and found Finley racing down the court for the fastbreak jumper. Another defensive stop led to a Harris layup and TU had its first lead since the opening minutes of the game. After two more defensive stops, Harris hit a pair from the line and a jumper by Morrow gave the Dragons its largest lead, 47-42, with 12 ticks left in the half. Bryan Coleman answered right before the break with a jumper for WSU and Tiffin led by three at intermission.
Graessle started the second with a jumper, but Wayne State tried to get momentum back when Hollingsworth made a layup while being fouled. He was able to complete the three-point play, but Tiffin jumped back up by five thanks to a three by Finley. However, Wayne State's Oden converted a jumper after three offensive rebounds to swing momentum in the Warriors' favor. A Smothers' fastbreak layup and a free throw tied the game. Tiffin pushed the lead back to three, but three free throws and a Hollingworth jumper gave Wayne State a 59-57 lead with 13:47 left in the game. A layup by Brian Scott retied the game at 63, but a 17-6 run put Wayne State in the lead for good. The Warriors built a 14-point lead, but a Morrow jumper and a Graessle deep three brought it to single digits with under a minute remaining. After WSU split a pair, an Isaiah Twine fastbreak layup cut it to eight. A Hollingsworth dunk put the exclamation point on the game for Wayne State.
Tiffin takes more than a week off before returning to action right before the new year for the Northwood University (Fla.) Chuck Daly Memorial Classic. The Dragons first take on the University of Saint Francis Dec. 29 at 5 p.m.
