TIFFIN, Ohio - Head coach John Hill might not have had the second half he wanted after the Dragons raced to a 53-33 halftime lead, but the end result was just as sweet.
The Dragons held off a furious Panthers run and never trailed in the game as Tiffin (8-18, 7-12 GLIAC) swept the season series from Ohio Dominican (6-20, 3-16) with a 77-72 win on senior night.
On his day, Brian Scott made sure the Dragons would register the victory with 17 points, six boards and five assists with a steal. Scott surpassed two former Dragons and finished 24th in TU history in scoring with 1,064 career points.
Classmate Rafael Cuellar also made his presence known, getting eight points and eight boards, including six on the offensive glass.
Freshman Joe Graessle added 18 points and four assists, including a three from about 35 feet with the shot clock winding down that swung momentum at a critical juncture in the second half. Junior Keenan Barlow came off the bench for 12 points, five rebounds and five dimes while junior Brandon Harris recorded all five blocks for the Dragons.
Harris recorded 14 blocks in his final two games of the season.
Ohio Dominican's Aaron Gibbs recorded the double-double with 17 points and 12 boards while Zak Kapron hit double-digits in points (12) and boards (10). Jake Mochoskay came off the bench for 13 points.
TU came out strong out of the gate with a trio of Graessle treys and a layup by Cuellar giving the Dragons a quick 11-3 lead only three minutes into the game. Graessle hit another three to extend the lead to 19-8. Both teams fought back-and-forth near the double digit mark before a 14-1 run over the final four minutes of the half put Tiffin up 20. Junior Karl Finley started it off with a fast break layup before a Barlow three from about 27 feet pushed the lead to 12. Morgan Jones split from the line for ODU, but a Scott jumper and a retro three by Cuellar put Tiffin up 16 under a minute. Cuellar came back with a steal and hit a streaking Scott for an 18 point lead. Harris then fouled Keith Jackson with three seconds left in the half, but Jackson took exception and bumped Harris for the technical. Scott made the ensuing free throws, and a rattled Jackson missed both as Tiffin took a 20-point lead into the locker room.
The second half started with an offensive board and put back by Cuellar, but Ohio Dominican would not go quietly. Tiffin led 67-52 with 11:07 remaining before a 13-2 run by the Panthers over the next four minutes cut it to four. Kapron began the run for the visitors with a layup before a three by Mochoskay cut it to 10. Darien Douglas then split from the line and Gibbs added a jumper on the offensive rebound to cut it to less than double-digits for the rest of the game. A Finley layup pushed it back to nine, but a Kapron layup and a Zack Joseph three cut it to 69-65 with seven minutes left. However, Tiffin ran some clock and Graessle hit a deep three and a Harris dunk off of a Cuellar steal pushed the home team advantage back to 9.
Ohio Dominican had one last punch, cutting it to three on a Kapron layup. ODU got a defensive stop, but Jones traveled shortly before a game-tying attempt and Graessle iced the game with a pair of freebies with one second left.
This ends the 2010-11 season for the Dragons, the best season for Tiffin since 2005-06. TU finishes 6-13 in the league, including a 4-3 mark against the GLIAC North.
