With the Tiffin University student body done with final exams and gone for break, the 95 people that gathered at the Old Fort Bank Court saw one of the best performances from the Dragons in a decade, as they defeated the #19 team in the nation, the Bulldogs of Ferris State University, 84-83.
From the opening tip, the Dragons were on the attack, building a 13-3 lead just three minutes into the game. Ferris responded, and took their first lead of the game at the 11:33 mark of the 1st half, 20-19. The Bulldogs then reeled off nine straight points to push the Dragon deficit to 10 points. With the Dragons on a down tick, they laced up their sneakers and pushed forward, outscoring Ferris 22-13 over the final 07:30 of the 1st half, to trail 42-41.
At the intermission, Tony Kynard led all scorers with 17 points, going 4 of 4 from beyond the arc. Andy Bachman pitched in with 8 points, Alex Brown added 4 points and 6 boards, and Chrisean Marsden added 6 points. The Dragons hit at a 45.2% clip from the field, but were dialed in from deep, going 6 of 10 from three point land. Tiffin also held a slight advantage from the charity stripe, which would become a huge factor in the 2nd half.
The 2nd half began with a Chrisean Marsden bucket to give TU a 43-42 lead, and then Marsden went to work in the low post. With Marsden having the hot hand in the post, the Dragons fed the big man, and Marsden didn't disappoint, netting 12 2nd half points and grabbing 5 rebounds. The Bulldogs' collar continued to tighten as Tiffin raced ahead on a 14-4 run to lead by 15 points. Ferris made their push down the stretch, trimming the Dragon lead to three points with 03:22 left in the game.
The trio of Alex Brown, Tony Kynard, and Andy Bachman pushed the Dragon lead back up to eight points with back to back to back buckets. Terrell Mabins added a couple free throws, and in the blink of an eye the lead was back to 10 points, but the Bulldogs had one last gasp left, and they pulled to within two points with 22 seconds left. But the clutch free throw shooting of Alex Brown and Tony Kynard muzzled the Bulldogs for good, and Tiffin beat the Bulldogs for the first time in program history.
Tony Kynard poured in a career high 28 points on 11 of 17 shooting. Chrisean Marsden finished with 18 points and 5 rebounds, Andy Bachman added 14 points, and Alex Brown recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Even though Jonathan Sutherlin didn't score, he snagged 10 boards and with the help of his fellow post players held Jared Stolicker of Ferris to only 15 points.
Tiffin shot 58% from the field in the 2nd half, and 51% for the game. The Dragons hit 7 of 13 three point attempts, and knocked down 21 of 28 free throw attempts. Ferris chalked up countless bricks from the free throw line, going 8 of 22 in the 2nd half, and 12 of 28 for the game.
The win moves TU to 4-5 overall and 1-3 in GLIAC play.
