Dragons Demolish Celtics, Set Conference Scoring Record

Dragons Demolish Celtics, Set Conference Scoring Record

TIFFIN, Ohio - It was never close from the beginning as Tiffin men's basketball scored at will in a 142-81 rout of the visiting Carlow Celtics on day one of the Tiffin Thanksgiving Tournament.

The home-opening victory is the Dragons' first win of 2018-19, and it came in dominating fashion as Tiffin set a new single-game team scoring record for any member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference since it was formed. The previous high was 134, held by Kentucky Wesleyan College in a win last season.

Tonight's output is also the most points that any Dragon team has scored since joining NCAA Division II (overall record is 159, set during the 1968-69 season). The previous high as a member of DII was 117, set on Nov. 19, 2012 against OSU-Mansfield.

The other game on the day was a bit closer, as Purdue Northwest edged Urbana 110-104 in overtime to set up a matchup between the Pride and Dragons at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday. The Blue Knights and the Celtics will open day two with the consolation contest at noon.

Tiffin shot a blistering 67.9% (57-84) on the evening, the third-highest shooting percentage in conference history. The 57 made field goals also broke TU's all-time record of 53 that was set in 2004. The Dragons were also 12-23 (52.2%) from deep, and tallied 25 assists on the night.

Some other gaudy team numbers on the evening were Tiffin winning the turnover battle 13-35 and outscoring Carlow 49-11 in points off turnovers, 84-36 in points in the paint, 47-6 in fastbreak points, and 94-35 in bench points.

Joshua Williams scored 22 points on 10-12 shooting in just 20 minutes of action, while Shane Waldon contributed 13 points in just nine minutes. Justin Miller came off the bench to score a game-high 25, while three other Dragons were in double figures: Thomas Hickman with 16, Jaden Terry with 15, and Luke Rightnowar with 11. 

As mentioned, the score was not close from the get-go, as TU raced out to a 30-7 lead on a Braxton Fasone layup at the 12:46 mark of the opening half. The lead remained at or around 20 points for the rest of the half, as a Miller three capped an opening period that saw the Dragons score 68 points. 

That mark was eclipsed in the second-half, though, as Tiffin was able to put up 74 points in the final 20 minutes. The game finished on a 42-11 Tiffin run.