The Tiffin University men's basketball team (2-11, 0-5 G-MAC) ended their three-game road trip to start the year on Thursday evening and was dealt an 84-60 defeat by 20th ranked Hillsdale. 

Both teams struggled offensively early on and back-to-back baskets by Michael Lucarotti gave the Dragons a 9-7 lead with 11:52 remaining. The Chargers took the lead back following a layup for a 10-9 lead with 10:18 left in the first half and the hosts would lead the rest of the night. 

A 9-0 run by Hillsdale made it 31-16 with 3:53 left in the first half and overall, over the final 5:51 of the first half, the Chargers outscored the Dragons 15-6. A layup by John Muhammad with 1:56 left was the Dragons' final basket of the first half. Despite the cold shooting start for both teams, Hillsdale found its rhythm and finished the half 45 percent from the floor while the Dragons shot 32 percent and were just 1-of-11 from downtown. 

Hillsdale began the second half strong with another 9-0 run to expand their lead to 46-22. The Dragons' biggest deficit was 30, 68-38, with 9:01 remaining in the game. Facing their biggest deficit of the game, the Dragons nearly cut the lead in half with a 14-0 run to make it 68-52 with 5:48 left. The run was fueled by DJ Gooden, Caleb Bates, and Allen Fordham. Hillsdale answered with baskets on their next two possessions to end any potential comeback attempt.  

Gooden led the way with 16 points and grabbed a team-high five rebounds. Muhammad finished with 11 points and Lucarotti added 10.  

The Dragons play their first home game of 2025 this Saturday, January 11 against Lake Erie at 3 p.m.