Men's Basketball Falls In Final Seconds At Tiffin 81-80

The Northwood University men's basketball team dropped a tough 81-80 contest at Tiffin Saturday afternoon (January 9).

The Timberwolves fall to 8-7 overall, 4-3 in the GLIAC. Tiffin improves to 6-6 overall, 2-5 in the GLIAC.

Tiffin was the better team the majority of the first half –their 47-38 advantage at halftime matched their biggest lead of the opening 20 minutes. NU shot 59.3 percent from the floor in the half (16-27), but had four more turnovers than Tiffin (9-5) and were out-rebounded by the Dragons 20-12 in the half.

The Dragons led by as many as 12 in the second half before Northwood fought back. The Timberwolves went on a 16-2 run that put Northwood up 66-63 with less than eight minutes remaining in the game.  NU led 80-75 with less than a minute to go when Tiffin's senior guard Joe Graessle took over.  Having already scored 30 points in the game, Graessle knocked down a triple to make it 80-78 with 55 seconds left.  After a Northwood turnover, Graessle connected on a deep 3-pointer from the right wing to put Tiffin up 81-80 with 11 seconds to go.  NU had a pair chances in the final moments but turned it over twice.

Northwood came up short in the game despite shooting a season-high 60.0 percent from the floor (30-50). Tiffin finished at 46.8 percent (29-62) and 47.4 percent from 3-point range (9-19 percent).

Five Timberwolves finished in double figures, led by Wes Wilcox (Roselle, Ill./Harper) and Dylan Langkabel (Morristown, Ind.) with 16 points. Will Bowles (East Detroit, Mich./Southlake) had 14 points, while Khalid King (Columbus, Ohio/North Carolina A&T) had 13 points off the bench. Tony Johnson (Midland, Mich.) scored 10 points in his first career start. Graessle ended the game with 36 points for Tiffin.

Northwood will travel to Ohio Dominican Saturday (January 11). Game time is set for 3 p.m.