TIFFIN, Ohio - After a heartbreaking loss to Alderson Broaddus last Saturday, Tiffin men's basketball faces a pair of crucial contests this week if they hope to stay alive in the hunt for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference postseason berth.

Game Information:

Tiffin Dragons (6-12, 2-8 G-MAC) vs.
Ohio Valley Fighting Scots (6-9, 2-8 G-MAC)
Thursday, Jan. 24 | 7:30 p.m.
Tiffin, Ohio | Gillmor Center
Video | Audio | Live Stats

Tiffin Dragons (6-12, 2-8 G-MAC) vs.
Ohio Dominican Panthers (11-6, 7-3 G-MAC)
Saturday, Jan. 26 | 3:00 p.m.
Tiffin, Ohio | Gillmor Center
Video | Audio | Live Stats

Series History:

Tiffin and Ohio Valley have played each other just two times in program histories before tonight, with both teams holding a victory in the all-time series. The Dragons won the most recent matchup, taking a 74-73 victory at home on Nov. 20, 2010.

Tiffin and Ohio Dominican have faced each other much more often, as the two teams have squared off 83 times, the third most of any TU opponent. The Dragons have a significant edge, holding a 52-31 advantage in the all-time series. Tiffin won the most recent matchup on Nov. 10 last season by a 71-67 score, but the Panthers had taken five in a row before that game. In that contest, Shane Waldon led the team with 16 points in his first game as a Dragon, while Austin Adams notched a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds to go with five assists.

Dragon Details:

Tiffin split a pair of one-point home games last weekend, defeating Davis & Elkins before falling to Alderson Broaddus. With the top eight teams in the conference reaching the G-MAC tournament, the Dragons currently sit tied for 10th in the conference standings, trailing No. 7 Alderson Broaddus and No. 8 Kentucky Wesleyan by 3.5 games with 10 games remaining on their conference slate.

The Dragons defeated Davis & Elkins 89-88 last Thursday, snapping a four-game skid with a much-needed, thrilling win. Hanging to a one-point lead with just over 30 seconds to play, Austin Adams gave Tiffin a three-point advantage with a tough layup. After a Senator bucket and missed TU one-and-one free throw, Joshua Williams was able to come up with a steal with two seconds remaining to put away the win. Williams finished with 17 points and six rebounds, while Hunter Schmalz came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points on six made three-pointers.

Tiffin was able to lead for much of the second-half against Alderson Broaddus on Saturday, but the Battlers completed a furious comeback to steal a win on a go-ahead jumper with 2.6 seconds to play after the Dragons led by 13 with just over five minutes remaining. Williams tallied a team-high 24 points, while Shane Waldon registered a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Record Watch:

Senior big man Shane Waldon is knocking on the door of the Tiffin men's basketball single-season field goal percentage record, as his current mark of 62.0% is third, with the record being 66.4% set by Rich Torrence during the 1992-93 season. Despite playing just three seasons in a Dragon uniform, Austin Adams is 39 rebounds away from entering the TU top-10 in career rebounding. Adams is also on track to finish near the top of the Tiffin career field goal percentage ranks, as the senior currently ranks seventh with a career mark of 55% from the field. 

Tiffin Men's Basketball Record Book

Rankings Rundown:

Full G-MAC Statistical Rankings

Scouting the Fighting Scots:

Ohio Valley comes into Thursday's game 6-9 overall and tied with Tiffin for 10th in the G-MAC with a 2-8 conference record. The Fighting Scots have dropped five of their last six contests and gave up 80 or more points in each of those defeats. OVU picked up their lone win of the 2019 calendar year with a close 75-74 victory over Trevecca Nazarene last Thursday, but followed that by falling to Kentucky Wesleyan 80-69 on Saturday. The Scots' strength is their presence in the paint, as OVU is first in the G-MAC with 5.08 blocks per game and fifth with 36.8 rebounds per game. Ohio Valley is led by senior Kenneth Miller's 14.7 points per game and 1.8 steals per game (3rd in G-MAC) and redshirt junior David Adeyemo's 8.2 rebounds per game (6th in G-MAC) and 3.5 blocks per game (leads G-MAC).

Scouting the Panthers:

Ohio Dominican enters the week at 11-6 overall and tied for third with a 7-3 record in conference. The Panthers swept their southern foes last weekend, defeating Kentucky Wesleyan 66-58 on Thursday before dispatching Trevecca Nazarene 78-47 on Saturday. ODU's calling cards are their three-point shooting (39.6%, 2nd in G-MAC) and rebounding, where they are second in the conference with 40.5 per game and lead with 30.2 defensive boards per contest. Junior Sam Hickey leads the Panthers with 17.8 points per game (6th in G-MAC), while redshirt junior Hasan Varence is averaging 15.7 points per game (12th in G-MAC) and leads the conference with 12.1 rebounds per game. Before visiting Tiffin on Saturday, ODU will travel to Cedarville on Thursday evening in a battle for sole possession of third-place in the conference.