Dragon Comeback Too Little, Too Late at Malone

Dragon Comeback Too Little, Too Late at Malone

CANTON, Ohio – Malone University jumped on Tiffin men's basketball early and rode a hot-shooting opening half to a 90-76 win over the Dragons on Saturday afternoon.

Hunter Schmalz came off the bench to score a career-high 10 points for the Dragons. Shane Waldon led the team with 26 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.

TU outrebounded Malone 42-40, including 13-7 on the offensive glass. Tiffin had a good day from the free throw line as well, shooting 14-16 (87.5%). The Pioneers had the advantage from deep, however, shooting 13-24 (54.2%) compared to just 6-25 (24%) for the Dragons.

Tiffin struggled out of the gate, falling behind by 10 points after five minutes. Malone's lead kept growing, as the Pioneers shot 65.6% from the field and 63.6% from deep in the opening half.

At the break, Malone held at 54-31 lead.

The Pioneer lead extended to as much as 33 points early in the second half. The Dragons were able to cut the deficit down to 17 late as Hunter Schmalz knocked down his second triple of the game with 5:07 left that made it 82-65 in favor of Malone.

Three minutes later, Jaden Terry scored four quick points and assisted on a Braxton Fasone layup that cut the deficit all the way down to 13, 87-74.

That was as close as the Dragons would come, however, as Malone hung on for the 90-76 victory.

Tiffin will have a seven days between games as they only have one game next week, travelling to Lake Erie College on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. start.