In what seemed like a repeat performance from Thursday night, Tiffin again falls on a 3 point shot at the buzzer. Thursday it was Hillsdale, Saturday it was Saginaw Valley State. Mitchell Baenziger hit a 3 pointer from the wing on the final shot of the game to give the Cardinals a 69-66 victory.
The game was a tale of two halves as the Dragons played a great first half and held a 37-32 advantage at the break, despite going 0-4 from the 3 point line. Tiffin took care of the basketball in the opening 20 minutes, only committing 6 turnovers. The Dragons also held a rebounding advantage of 18-12. Khaleal McCormick was the offensive catalyst in the first half, scoring 8 points. Alex Brown, Ashton Khan, Mohamed Rage, and Darlington Osazuwa all chipped in with 6 points each.
Half number 2 was a different story. Tiffin came out slow and the Cardinals took advantage, turning the 5 point deficit into an 11 point lead with 4:19 remaining. The Dragons did not fold. Tiffin roared back and eventually tied the game at 66 off a jumper from McCormick. Then with under 10 seconds remaining Saginaw brought the ball up court and hit Baenziger for the game winning trey. As good as the Dragons were in the first half rebounding, Saginaw was in the second. For the game the Cardinals had 16 second chance points to Tiffin's 2. The game featured 3 ties and 5 lead changes.
McCormick led Tiffin with 21 points. Andy Bachman was the only other Dragon in double figures with 11 points and 5 rebounds to lead the team.
Tiffin falls to 3-4, 0-2 GLIAC. Saginaw Valley State improves to 4-2, 2-0 GLIAC. The Dragons will be back in action December 14 when they travel to Grand Valley State University.