It didn't look so good at the half.

Behind a 15-6 run to close out the first half, Lake Erie had amassed a 41-32 halftime lead over Tiffin University and looked to have the momentum.

But the Dragons turned things around quickly in the second half and used a vise-like defense in the closing minutes to lead to a 71-66 victory on the road. TU improves to 7-10, 2-8 in the GLIAC.

Coming out of the halftime lockerroom, the Dragons immediately exploded on a 16-4 run that culminated when Karl Finley buried a trey to take a 48-45 lead just five minutes into the half.


Over the next 10 minutes, the two teams kept things close but the Dragons turned things in their favor with under 5:00 to play. The Dragons defense allowed only one basket to the Storm over the game's final 4:24, a meaningless layup with just 2 seconds remaining when they led by seven points.

TU led just 65-64 when the defensive stand started, with Finley burying two free throws and closing the game out with an exclamation point dunk with 8 seconds left.

TU's defense held Lake Erie to just 39 percent shooting overall while the Dragons offense hit at a 47 percent clip. They also held a narrow edge 40-35 in rebounding.

Finley once again led the Dragons with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists, while Travis Spahr also had 14 points with 7 rebounds. Joe Graessle also reached double figures with 12 points and 5 rebounds.

TU also got good production from Iman Johnson (7 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 5 steals), Keenan Barlow (6 rebounds), and Brandon Harris (9 points).