The Tiffin University men's basketball team (1-4) picked up their first win of the year on Sunday afternoon inside the Gillmor Center. The Dragons led wire-to-wire for a 92-61 victory against Miami-Middletown.  

The win also marks the first career coaching victory for head coach Desmond Balentine. 

The Dragons started the game with seven straight points on three straight buckets by Caleb Bates, Michael Lucarotti, and Allen Fordham. Tiffin controlled the game from the opening tip and never looked back. A layup by John Muhammad gave the Dragons their biggest lead of the half, 47-25 with just over a minute remaining and Tiffin took a 47-27 lead into the break after shooting just over 59 percent in the first 20 points.  

The Thunderhawks started the second half with four straight points to cut the deficit to 27-31, but they could not get any closer as the Dragons maintained a lead of over 20 for the remainder of the game.  

Following Middletown's 4-0 mini run, Tiffin responded with a 9-0 run to make it 56-31. The Dragons continued to add on to their lead and a three-pointer by TJ Hallet gave TU their biggest lead of the game, 84-44, with 4:44 remaining in the game.  

Tiffin's bench played a big role in the game, outscoring the Thunderhawks bench 50-17. The Dragons finished the game 54 percent from the floor, their best shooting game of the season so far.  

Jacob Pleiman led the way in scoring with 19 including a team-high five made threes and the other double-digit scorer was Dekyre Fuller with 13. Fordham and Lucarotti both finished with nine points.  

The Dragons return to the road for their next game on Saturday, November 23 against Wayne State. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. with the women's game to follow.