In a game that featured runs in the first half, Lake Erie pulled away late in the second half to defeat Tiffin University men's basketball (4-13, 2-7 G-MAC) 78-70 on Thursday evening at the Jerome T. Osborne Center in Painesville.  

The Dragons trailed by five points just a minute into the game until a 9-0 run propelled them to an 11-7 lead with Jonah Nesmith fueling the run, scoring six of the nine points. A three-pointer by DJ Gooden tied the game at 18 and the Storm answered with an 8-0 run for a 26-18 lead with 9:49 left in the first half.  

Tiffin answered Lake Erie's 8-0 run with a 10-0 run to take the lead back, 28-26, with just over six minutes remaining in the first half. The storm scored the next six points to take the lead back and they played from in front for the rest of the evening. Over the final 6:03, the Dragons were outscored 11-2 and trailed 37-30 at the break. The Dragons were held without a field goal for the final 6:56 with the only points coming from made free throws by Dekyre Fuller and D'monyae Davis.  

The Dragons were forced to play from behind and with 9:26 left in the game, Allen Fordham made a free throw to tie it at 48. Following a missed second free throw, the Storm scored on the ensuing possession and scored on their following possession to lead 52-48 at the under-8 timeout. Later in the half, a seven-point Tiffin deficit was cut to one with 3:48 remaining.  

Once the lead was cut to one, Lake Erie extended it back out to eight with 2:30 remaining. Tiffin fouled to extend the game, but the Storm were a perfect 14-for-14 at the free throw line in the second half. 

The game featured seven ties and four lead changes. 

Nesmith scored a season-high 20 to lead the way and Fordham finished with 16 while Pruitt added 12. Fuller grabbed nine rebounds and Pruitt grabbed six. John Muhammad dished out three assists.  

The Dragons begin a three-game homestand this Saturday, January 25. Saturday's game against Walsh tips off at 3 p.m. with the women playing Ursuline first at 1 p.m.