The Tiffin University men's basketball team swept the season series with the Malone University Pioneers on Thursday night with a 74-67 home victory.
The Dragons entered the game having lost four straight games, and needed to get back on track. Tiffin and Malone were neck and neck for the vast majority of the 1st half, but the Pioneers had the hot hand from deep early as they raced out to a 10 point lead, thanks to a 19-8 run. In the half, Malone struck six times from beyond the arc. Tiffin was able to trim the deficit to 37-31 before the halftime horn.
At the intermission, the Dragons were shooting 43% from the field, 50% from three, and were 2-3 from the free throw line. The Pioneers held a slight 18-16 rebound advantage, but were efficient on the offensive glass with nine second chance points. Tiffin was led in scoring by Tony Kynard with 16 points on 4-6 shooting from three.
The Dragons, having seen Malone's hot hand, countered with their own. Tiffin caught fire and roared ahead on the wings of a 13-2 run. The Dragons bolstered their lead to seven before the Pioneers responded with a 7-0 run to tie the score at 52-52 with 10:46 remaining. A Juwan Johnson three pointer broke the tie, and a Tony Kynard jumper bumped the lead to five. Two Alex Brown free throws pushed the lead to seven again, but Malone kept pace. With 56 seconds left, two free throws pulled Malone within two, but Chrisean Marsden added a layup to push the lead to four, and the Dragons put the game on ice with Marsden's two free throws with six seconds left, sealing a 74-67 win.
The Dragons were one step ahead of Malone in the stats, making one field goal and three point shot more than Malone. The Dragons also hit the boards in the 2nd half, corralling 40 boards and holding a 8-2 advantage in second chance points in the half. Tiffin was paced in the scoring column by Tony Kynard with 21 points. Juwan Johnson bagged 20, and Alex Brown poured in a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The victory moves Tiffin to 11-14 overall and 7-11 in GLIAC play.
