DJ Gooden scored all 19 of his points in the second half and with the game tied at 69, knocked down a jumper to give the Dragons the lead which proved to be the game winner Thursday night at the Gillmor Center as the Tiffin University men's basketball team improved to 5-14 overall and 3-8 in the G-MAC.
Tonight's win avenged a Tiffin overtime loss to the Panthers in the first meeting of the season back on January 4.
Caleb Bates hit a jumper with 7:47 remaining in the first half to give the Dragons a 25-22 lead. A couple possessions later, KJ Pruitt stole the ball and went racing down the floor when Ohio Dominican's Terrance Broughton was whistled for a flagrant foul. The Dragons seemed to have all the momentum as Pruitt made both free throws and TU got possession of the ball.
Following the free throws, the Dragons turned the ball over which led the Panthers to an 8-0 run to take a 30-27 lead. A three-pointer by Jonah Nesmith tied it at 30, but ODU closed the half on an 11-2 run and an extended 19-5 run to take a 41-32 lead into halftime.
The Panthers continued to build their lead in the second and took their biggest lead of the game, 56-42, with 14:20 remaining in the game. The Dragons cut the lead in half with a 7-0 run to make it 56-49 with 12:25 left.
Once the Dragons got the deficit under 10, they slowly clawed their way back into it. The final point of a 6-0 run was a made free throw by Dekyre Fuller to tie it at 62 with 5:29 remaining, and that was the first time the game had been tied since the five-minute mark of the first half. The Panthers took the lead back on the next possession, and Gooden faked a three and drove to the basket to hammer one down to tie the game at 64 with 4:54 left.
Fuller had a chance to give the Dragons their first lead since the first half with a free throw, but he missed and the Panthers went down on offense and converted an and-one to take a 69-66 lead with 1:34 left. On TU's next possession, Gooden tied the game with a three. The Dragons corralled the rebound off a missed three by the Panthers and that's when Gooden nailed a step back jumper to give Tiffin their first lead since the first half.
Tiffin forced a turnover on ODU's next possession and got the ball back with seven seconds remaining. Fuller was fouled with just under four seconds remaining and was sent to the line in the double bonus where he made the first and missed the second, but Nesmith came flying in on the miss to corral the rebound and secure the Dragons' victory. Overall, Tiffin closed the game on a 6-0 run.
Gooden finished with a team-high 19 points, grabbed three rounds and recorded one block to go along with two assists. Nesmith added 10 points, five rebounds, and two steals. Fuller finished with eight points and four assists.
The Dragons finish their homestand on Saturday, February 1 as Malone visits the Gillmor Center. The men's game tips off at 1pm with the women's game to follow at 3 and it's also Alumni Day.
