HILLSDALE, Mich. - Nationally-ranked opponents want nothing to do with the Dragons.
With TU playing its eighth game against a nationally-ranked opponent Saturday, the Dragons came back from a 14-point deficit and nearly stunned the 20th-ranked Chargers on their home court as Tiffin (6-17, 4-12) fell to Hillsdale (19-3, 13-3) 68-67 Saturday afternoon in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action in Hillsdale, Mich.
With Hillsdale clinging to a 63-57 lead late in the game, Tiffin jabbed back with seven unanswered points to take a tenuous one-point lead with 39 ticks left. Senior Brian Scott started with a lay-up while classmate Rafael Cuellar split a pair from the line to cut the deficit to three. Two Hillsdale turnovers on consecutive possessions, including a rare 10-second call, saw Finley make a pair from the line and hit a jumper to give Tiffin its first advantage in the second half. Tyler Gerber gave Hillsdale the lead with a throwback three, but Finley responded with his own old-time bucket and the bonus to give Tiffin a 67-66 advantage with nine seconds left. Brad Guinane appeared to be blocked by junior Keenan Barlow, but freshman Richard Morrow was called for bodying Guinane and the junior went to the stripe for two. Guinane's freebies both touched nothing but net and Scott's desperation heave from the right wing fell short at the buzzer as the Chargers held on for the win.
Finley led Tiffin with 27 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the field and a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe. Freshman Joe Graessle contributed 13.
With 9:23 remaining in the game, Scott became the 29th Dragon in men's basketball history to hit 1,000 career points with a three right in front of head coach John Hill.
Guinane led Hillsdale with 17 points with Gerber adding 16. Nick Washburn added 11 and a game-high seven boards.
Tied at 17 just seven minutes into the game, Hillsdale put together a 10-3 spurt to exert control in the game. Matt Clarke started it with a layup and a TU turnover led to two offensive rebounds and a layup by Tim Dezelski. Graessle drew a foul behind the arc and hit all three to cut the deficit back to one, but a pair of layups and a Washburn jumper gave HC a 27-20 advantage. Gerber hit a three to push the lead to eight with 1:16 left in the first, but Finley made a pair from the line and a lay-up to cut the deficit to 37-33 at intermission.
Hillsdale built the lead in the second half to 14, but Tiffin took advantage of a lax Charger defense and went on a 15-3 run to get back in the game. Freshman Devin Russell began with a pair from the line and a trey and layup by Finley got the lead back under double-digits for good in the game. Hillsdale wrapped a free throw and a jumper, interrupted by a Finley lay-up, bringing it to 52-45 with 9:39 left. Scott answered with a three off the bench and two freebies by Russell cut the deficit to two before the exciting finish.
Tiffin takes a whole week off before returning to action next weekend when it travels to Ohio's capital to battle Ohio Dominican. Game time is 1 p.m.
