Tiffin University led for over 28 minutes in their exhibition at Bellarmine but fell in the closing seconds 90-87.

TU came close to pulling off an impressive upset as they prepare for their 2021-22 season. The Dragons led by as much as 11 in the first half, held a 41-36 halftime advantage, and had chances to go ahead and tie inside the final 8 seconds.

With 15:52 left in the second half, TU pushed its lead to 52-44, but Bellarmine went on a 13-5 run to knot the score at 57-57. BU maintained a slim lead over the final 10 minutes of the game, but the Dragons climbed back on top 84-83 with 1:31 left. After Bellarmine pulled back ahead, the Dragons again took the lead on Braxton Foreman's layup 86-85 with 52 seconds remaining.

BU hit 5 free throws in the final 36 seconds to keep their lead but TU still had chances. Dalaino Walker missed a three from up top with TU trailing 87-86 that would have given TU the lead with 8 seconds left. TU also had a chance to hit two free throws with 4 seconds left that would have tied the game 88-88 but could not convert them both.

Overall TU rained three pointers on Bellarmine all night, putting up 45 shots and hitting 16 of them. BU outshot TU 59 percent to 41 percent from the field and dominated the paint 48-18.

Tanner Johnson had a strong night, hitting 6 of 11 treys to finish with 20 points, while Foreman had 14 points.

Walker totaled 13 points with 4 rebounds, Thomas Hickman finished with 11, and Morgan Taylor had 7 points with 8 assists. Ian Lopez netted 8 points, and Wesley Jordan and Tylin Lockett-Fuller both finished with 7 points.