Physicality and aggression were the name of the game on Saturday afternoon between the Tiffin University men's basketball team and the Lake Superior State Lakers. The game saw a total foul count of 41, three technical fouls, and Tiffin's Austin Adams had to be helped off the floor after sustaining an injury late in the 1st half.
It was probably Tiffin's finest half of basketball this season, combining offense, defense, and rebounding to hold the Lakers to 33 points in the 1st half. The Dragons were relentless on the offensive end, dominating the paint to the tune of 18-6 in the 1st half. The Dragons continued to push forward, and eventually led by as much as 14 points with 07:25 left in the 1st half. The Lakers responded with a late 8-2 run to cut Tiffin's lead to 41-33 at the break.
Tiffin hit 16 of 26 field goals in the opening half, and held a 21-9 lead on the boards. Terrell Mabins had quite a half with 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the field.
The Dragons built their lead back to double digits in the 2nd half, leading 49-39 with 16:44 remaining. The Lakers slowly began to chip away at Tiffin's lead, and eventually drew even at 56-56 with 09:27 remaining. Lake Superior State never relinquished their lead, and used 55.6% shooting from the field to do so. Tiffin never gave up in the 2nd half, but in the end it was the Lakers who escaped with an 80-76 victory.
Tiffin was led Terrell Mabins with 19 points on 7 of 9 shooting. Alex Brown chipped in with a double-double with 18 points and 11 boards.