The Dragons held a 45-36 lead at halftime over the 19th ranked team in the nation, but the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers clawed their way back to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, 83-66.

The Panthers shot 46.4% in the 1st half from the field, and 55.6% in the 2nd half. Overall the Panthers shot 50.9% from the field, 35.3% from three point land, and 80.8% from the charity stripe. Kentucky Wesleyan was led offensively by C.J. Blackwell. Blackwell scored a game high 20 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the field, and 4-7 shooting from downtown. Blackwell also grabbed 8 rebounds on the evening. Ken-Jah Bosley was the next Panther in line as he added 18 points to the cause. Of those 18 points, 14 came from the free throw line. Bosley shot 14-18 from the stripe.

The Dragons struggled out of the gate, but caught fire midway through the 1st half. The Dragons trailed 20-12 at the 12:07 mark in the 1st half, but from there on out it was all Tiffin. The Dragons closed the 1st half on a 33-16 run.

At the half the Dragons were shooting 61.5% from the field, 3-6 from beyond the three point line, and 10-11 from the free throw line. The 2nd half was a totally different story. The Dragons only shot 25.9% from the field, 20% from three, and 50% from the free throw line. The cold shooting combined with the 17 total turnovers, and the intense defensive pressure applied by the Panthers led to the defeat.

The Dragons were led by Ashton Khan with 18 points. Khan shot 6-12 from the field and 5-5 at the free throw line. Andy Bachman added 13 points for his squad. Khaleal McCormick and Darlington Osazuwa each chipped in 9 points.

The Dragons fall to 0-1, and will be in action tomorrow night as they take on the Marauders of Central State in the G-MAC vs. GLIAC Challenge at 9:00 pm.