TIFFIN, Ohio - Lights out shooting in the second half keyed the comeback as the Tiffin University men's basketball team (8-10, 3-8 GLIAC) rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat Wayne State (9-8, 6-4 GLIAC), Thursday evening at the Gillmor Center. It was the first time in school history that the Dragons have beaten the Warriors.
For the first eight minutes the teams battled on near even terms. Wayne State had a 16-12 lead with 11 minutes to go. The Warriors went on an 8-2 run over the next three minutes to lead 24-14 at the 7:52 mark.
WSU maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the half. Senior Karl Finley hit a twisting layup with 1:04 to go. That made it 36-23, which was the score at the half.
Tiffin unleashed the Dragon Rollercoaster at the start of the second half. The Dragons forced four turnovers and pulled down six rebounds to key a huge 20-6 run.
Down 42-36, freshman Iman Johnson hit a free throw. TU forced two turnovers, which led to dunks by Finley and Johnson. Sophomore Joe Graessle made a steal and threw up a sick lob that Finley slammed home off balanced.
That was seven in a row and gave Tiffin a 43-42 lead with 16:08 to play. The squads traded buckets back and forth for the next nine minutes. Stacey Waters scored in the paint to make it 67-67 at the 5:13 mark. Senior Keenan Barlow nailed a triple with 4:52 left to give the Dragons the lead for good.
For Tiffin, Finley had 32 points and five assists, Graessle had 21 points, six assists, three steals and hit six 3-pointers while Johnson had 10 points and two steals. Barlow had nine points and two steals and freshman Michael Bouley had seven points and 10 rebounds coming off the bench.
For Wayne State, Ike Udanoh had 16 points and 12 rebounds, Cole Prophet scored 16 points and Dale Brundidge had 11 points and 12 assists.
Tiffin is back in action, Saturday, January 21, when they host Northwood. The game is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. Live Stats will be available at http://livestats.prestosports.com/tiffin/.
-TIFFIN UNIVERSITY-
