ELKINS, W.Va. – Tiffin men's basketball led early and never looked back as they defeated Davis & Elkins 97-77 to close out the regular season with back-to-back wins.
TU finishes the 2018-19 campaign with a 10-18 overall record and 6-14 in conference, win totals that are each three higher than last season.
The game was far easier for the Dragons than the first time the two teams met this season, when Tiffin had to hang on late for a two-point victory at home.
This time, Tiffin outshot Davis & Elkins 50.0% to 44.3% from the field and a significant 40.7% to 16.7% from beyond the arc. With 225 made threes on the year, TU came within nine triples of the program record in a single season. The Dragons also took 23 free throws in today's contest, making 18.
TU also outrebounded the Senators 41-36, and led by as many as 25 before the final horn sounded.
In his final game in a Tiffin uniform, Austin Adams tied his season-high with 29 points and narrowly missed a double-double by pulling down nine boards. Despite just three seasons at TU, Adams finishes his career 10th in Dragon history with 632 career rebounds and eighth with a career field goal percentage of 54.4%.
Joshua Williams also scored 24 points and went 11-13 from the free throw line, bringing his single-season made free throw total to 108, a mark that is ninth in program history. Shane Waldon scored 15 and Austin Schaub added 12 to round out the Dragon double-figure scoring.
The game was still close ten minutes in, as Tiffin led 19-16 at the 10:49 mark of the first-half. Five quick points from Williams then started a 10-0 Dragon run as they extended the lead to 29-16 on a Hunter Schmalz triple with 6:47 remaining.
The advantage stayed around ten for the rest of the half, before Adams nailed a three with 10 seconds to go to give Tiffin a 50-36 lead at the break.
The Dragons did not let up, leading by more than ten points throughout the rest of the game and taking their largest advantage of the contest, 92-67, with 4:33 to play as Waldon slammed home a dunk.
The Senators put in a few late baskets, but Tiffin easily held on for the 20-point win.