URBANA, Ohio – Shaunn Monroe knocked down a pair of free throws with less than one second remaining to force overtime here Friday night, but Urbana came up short against Tiffin by a final score of 76-71.
Urbana (3-8) had its two-game win streak at home snapped following the loss, while Tiffin (6-7) ended a four-game losing streak. It was the 75th meeting between the two programs, but only the first since 2008.
Senior
Jordan Bradley continued his recent tear with a career-high 25 points (11-26 FG) to go with six boards, four assists and three steals. He's averaging 22.0 points over the past three outings. Senior forward
Mike Ryan notched a season-high 11 points in 15 minutes off the bench while freshman forward
Mario Lacy Jr. had nine points and eight boards. Freshman guard
Tehree Horn pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds.
Tiffin's Jairus Stevens led all scorers with 27 points and 11 rebounds and Wesley Jordan also logged a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. TU's Joshua Willams finished with 16 points.
In a game of runs, Urbana closed the opening stanza with a 19-6 spurt over the final six minutes to take its largest lead of the game into the break, 34-22. The Blue Knights had all the momentum after hitting 7 of 9 shots with five different players scoring during the run including Bradley, who recorded 13 points in the first. UU limited Tiffin to just 26-percent shooting and 0 for 9 from beyond the arc.
However, Tiffin came out firing on all cylinders with a scorching 23-2 run over a seven minute span to start the second half. The Dragons made 10 of 13 field goals while forcing four turnovers and holding the Blue Knights to 1 of 11 shooting during the dash.
Tiffin eventually built a 10-point lead, its largest advantage of the contest, when it moved ahead 57-47 with eight minutes remaining in regulation. The Dragons shot a blistering 64-percent (16-25) in the second half.
But, the Blue Knights had another run left in them as a pair of three's from Monroe ignited the home team for a 12-4 sprint over the final 3:36 of regulation.
Monroe's second trey went down with 20 seconds left to tie the score at 65-65, erasing Tiffin's lead for the first time since the 15:25 mark. After a UU timeout, Tiffin's Stevens was able to find the go-ahead layup with five seconds to go. Then, Monroe stepped into a game-winning shot but was fouled behind the arc to have a shot to win it at the line. The freshman from Fairborn, Ohio missed the first free-throw attempt but impressively regrouped and buried the next two high-leverage shots with ease to force OT.
Bradley's layup pulled Urbana back in front, 69-68, with 2:50 remaining in OT, but Tiffin responded right away with a basket and never trailed again. The Blue Knights were outscored 9-4 after shooting 2 of 12 in the extra period.
Overall, Urbana held the edge in rebounding, 49-46, which featured 18 offensive boards but only had 15 second-chance points. The Blue Knights also had a 22-7 advantage in bench scoring.
UU finished the game shooting 35 percent overall and 27 percent (7-26) from range. Tiffin shot 43 percent overall and hit only three treys on 15 attempts from beyond the arc. The Dragons did most of their damage down low and at the charity stripe where they went 19 for 27 (70%).
NEXT UP: Urbana will take a week off for the Holiday Break before returning to host Salem University on Thursday, Jan. 2. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Grimes Center.
