COLUMBUS, Ohio - Tiffin men's basketball got back in the win column in thrilling fashion on Saturday afternoon, erasing an 18-point deficit in the final six minutes to knock off Ohio Dominican 77-74.
The victory avenges a 79-67 defeat at the hands of the Panthers just one week ago in Tiffin, giving the Dragons their second GMAC win of the year.
Ohio Dominican jumped out in front early, leading by 15 at halftime, and would extend that lead to as many as 20 early in the second half.
Trailing 68-50 with 6:24 to play, the Dragons began their comeback. Trent Williams knocked down a triple to get things started, followed by three free throws from Brevin Brimble and Jairus Stevens. Stevens added a layup and a dunk to make it a 10-0 run before Ohio Dominican got on the board again with a Hasan Varence jumper that made it 70-60 with 3:52 remaining.
Wesley Jordan then buried a jumper on the next possession and Eric Turner poured in a triple to cut the deficit to five. ODU got a pair of free throws to build it back to a seven-point game, but Turner came right back with his fourth three of the afternoon.
The teams exchanged free throws, and then Stevens made an incredible defensive play on the press with a steal and a twisting and-one layup. He would convert the free throw, cutting the deficit to just one, 73-72, with 26 seconds to play.
Ohio Dominican went 1-2 from the line on their next possession, and after a mad scramble for the rebound went Tiffin's way, Turner found himself open again from the top of the key and buried another triple to give the Dragons their first lead of the game with 13 seconds on the clock.
The Dragons would play fantastic defense on the final ODU possession, not allowing anything to develop and getting a steal from Austin Schaub in the final seconds. Schaub would get fouled and make both free throws, giving Tiffin the three-point victory.
Turner finished with a TU career-best 15 points and five made triples, going 5-9 from deep. Stevens had one of his best games as a Dragon as well, recording a monster double-double with 25 points and 15 rebounds, including six on the offensive end.
Brevin Brimble also added 11 points for the Dragons, while Trent Williams notched nine points and a career-high seven assists.
The Dragons ended with 13 threes in the game, shooting 34.2% from deep. The huge advantage for Tiffin came in the turnover battle, as they forced 22 ODU giveaways while only turning the ball over 14 times, leading to a seven-point advantage in points off turnovers.
Tiffin will now have a week to rest before hosting Lake Erie next Saturday at 3:00 p.m.