The Tiffin University men's basketball team was defeated by Kentucky Wesleyan 81-77, with the Panthers outrebounding the Dragons 44-24.

The Panthers improve to 9-7 overall and 4-4 in the conference, while the Dragons fall to 5-7 overall and 1-4 in the conference.

The Dragons fell behind early as the Panthers led 9-5 through the first five minutes of the contest, but Tiffin countered with an 11-0 run to take a 16-9 lead with 11:01 left in the first half. The Panthers rallied to cut into the Dragons lead with a 5-2 run to bring the score to 18-14.

Kentucky Wesleyan came within three of the Dragons at 23-20 with 7:30 left in the half, but Tiffin went on a 9-0 run to lead 32-20 at the 4:12 mark. The two teams traded points until the end of the half with the Dragons leading the Panthers 38-32 at the end of the first half.

The Panthers came out in the second half going on a 9-5 run to bring the score to 43-41, but the Dragons responded with a 6-0 run to lead 49-41. The teams traded points with the Dragons holding a two-shot lead for most of the half until the Panthers went on a 10-2 run to take a 61-60 lead, their first of the second half, with 10:07 left in the game.

Tiffin responded with a 10-2 run to lead 70-63 with 5:05 left in the game. Kentucky Wesleyan responded with a 10-2 run to take a 73-72 lead at the 2:58 mark. With a one-point lead the Panthers got the ball back after a missed free throw, then went down the court and made a jump shot to go up 75-72. The Panthers went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the last three minutes to seal the 81-77 win.       

Kentucky Wesleyan outshot the Dragons, shooting 47.4 from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc, while the Dragons shot 46.8 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from three-point range. The Panthers outrebounded Tiffin 44 to 24 with 12 offensive boards. Tiffin's defense fared well causing 17 turnovers from the Panthers compared to the Dragons eight. Tiffin's bench had a stellar performance scoring 30 points in the game compared to zero points from the Panthers bench. 

Luke Johnson led the offense with 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting, recorded two rebounds, five assists, and four steals, while Trent Williams tallied 17 points shooting 6-for-12 for the field, 3-for7 from beyond the arc, five rebounds, and one assist. Tanner Johnson scored 11 points shooting 4-for-10 from the field and 3-for-7 from three-point range, and Dalaino Walker tallied nine points shooting 3-for-6 from the field, with four rebounds, and one assist.