COLUMBUS, Ohio - Tiffin had its rebounding edge neutralized for most of the game, but Ohio Dominican surrendered an offensive board to the Dragons when it mattered most.
Both teams managed 29 rebounds for the game, but an offensive board and subsequent jumper by junior Travis Spahr in the waning seconds of the game lifted Tiffin (7-17, 5-12) past Ohio Dominican (5-19, 2-15) 89-87 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon.
Junior Karl Finley led a balanced Dragon attack with 21 points on 7-15 shooting, including making all four from the charity stripe and all three shots from downtown. Freshman Joe Graessle chipped in 19 with seven assists and three steals. Senior Brian Scott came off the bench for 14 while Spahr hit double-digit scoring (11) on the game-winning basket.
Tiffin's post players also came up big as senior Rafael Cuellar chipped in nine and a team-high seven boards, junior Brandon Harris added seven points, hitting all three shots from the field, and junior Keenan Barlow had seven points and five boards.
Jake Mochoskay came off the bench for 27 points while Morgan Jones added 18. Zak Kapro came off the bench for 11.
Tiffin continued its strong defense against the opposing team's leading scorer, holding ODU's Aaron Gibbs to six points on only three shots for the game. Also, Tiffin dominated inside, outscoring ODU 42-28 for the contest.
For the game, both teams shot lights out as the Dragons connected on 34-60 shots (56.7%) from the field while ODU hit 31-58 (53.4%)
With Tiffin accustomed to games where both teams have double-digit leads, the Dragons faced an unusual situation as the game was played within a 10-point spread with 14 lead changes and 11 ties. TU jumped out 9-4 thanks to a three and a layup by Graessle, but Ohio Dominican countered with an 8-2 spurt thanks to a three by John Trew and a trey and lay-up by Jones for the first ODU lead.
Ohio Dominican took a 23-20 lead with 8:08 left and looked to take control of the game with a few defensive stops, but Tiffin was up to the challenge. TU held with a pair of steals and the Dragon defense forced a trio of missed shots behind the arc before a layup by Barlow and a Finley triple after a turnover and an offensive rebound gave Tiffin the lead for the rest of the half. Graessle followed with the steal and hit Finley for a fastbreak dunk to push the TU lead to 33-29 with five minutes left in the first half. Gibbs hit one of his jumpers with 18 seconds before half to cut the TU lead to one, but Finley added a jumper at the buzzer as Tiffin took a 43-40 lead into the locker room.
Tiffin took its largest lead of the game, 58-51, on a Harris layup and another Graessle-to-Finley connection for the slam, but a pair of layups and a pair from the line and a lone free throw by Tiffin quickly cut the deficit for the home team to two. Neither team led by more than three the rest of the way.
Tied at 85-85 with a minute left, both teams traded baskets as Ohio Dominican called timeout with 27 seconds and Tiffin's ball. Finley missed the basket with seven ticks left, but Spahr grabbed the rebound and hit the game-winning jumper. Ohio Dominican could not even get a final shot off as Tiffin collected its first GLIAC South win of the season.
Tiffin returns to action Thursday when it travels to Painesville, Ohio for a battle with Lake Erie. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m.
