Sunday, March 28, 2010

Sponsorship


One of the main athletic sponsors for Tiffin athletics is ADIDAS. They have sponsored Tiffin athletics for many years and it seems is if they will continue this. With Men's basketball they sponsor all athletic gear including shoes, jerseys, and all other team gear. Team gear could include warm-up tops, pants, and even socks. Having this sponsorship allow everyone that is in relationship with the team to get discounts on all gear to have the ADIDAS logo on everything. This provides a relationship that not only help cloth the Tiffin basketball team, but also helps market ADIDAS gear by having the teams wear it.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Season Overview of 2009-10 Season


Overall, it was a disappointed season for the Tiffin University Dragons. There was much excitement built around this season with new coach John Hill along with the slew of new players coming to the team. A program that has struggled over the last few years showed bight spots early on with preseason games and hanging tough with a tough West Liberty St. team showed that the Dragons may be changing their losing ways. This idea was topped off with an early win against Cincinnati-Clermont.

Then disaster struck. The Dragons went on an 18 game losing streak. The Dragons had a habit of starting off hot and looking like a dominant team, but would cool off at the intermission and the opponents would take advantage of them. After the second win of the season though, against Lake Superior St., the Dragons were a much improved team. They had some tough loses against Saginaw Valley, Northwood, Hillsdale, and the tough overtime loss against Findlay in the season closer. The record is tough to show how good the Dragons are, but look for them to play a big role in the GLIAC championship next year.

Jordan Named GLIAC South Division All-Conference Second Team; Ferris State Keenan Named "Player of the Year"

One of the bright spots for the Tiffin Dragons this season was Junior guard, DeAngelo Jordan. Jordan was named to the All Conference second team in the GLIAC's South Division. This a great accomplishment for anyone to be apart of and especially something to build off of for next year. Jordan was the Dragons leading scorer with 13.6 ppg and was second on the team in rebounding at 4.8 rpg. He was also second on the team in steals.

Junior forward Justin Keenan (Grand Rapids, Mich./Ottawa Hills) of Ferris State University was selected as the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) men’s basketball “Player of the Year.” Keenan averaged 20.3 points per game, including a 21.1 points per game figure in conference action. His 465 points in league games finished only six shy of matching the league’s single-season scoring record. The 6-6 Keenan also broke two GLIAC seasonal efforts with his 176 made free throws and 253 total attempts in GLIAC encounters while becoming the school’s all-time leader in career made free throws (547) and topping his own single-season record with 200 makes at the charity stripe. This is an honor that Jordan can compete for for next season along with other Dragon standouts like Keenan Barlow and Brian Scott.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Dragons End Season with OT Thriller


Tiffin University (2-25)had nothing to play for, but respect in the seasons final game against the Findlay Oilers. The Dragons had a 32-27 lead at halftime, but the game was back and fourth throughout. The Oilers started out sluggish, but Preseason Player of the Year Nathan Hyde kept them in the game. In the second half the Dragons built a 14 point lead with 7:36 and shot almost a blistering 70% from the field! The Oilers charged back by getting to the free throw line 38 times and making 24 shots. The Dragons only got to the line 15 times. In the final 7:00 minuets of play, Findlay went on a 21-5 run to take the lead 66-64 with 28 seconds left in regulation. Brian Scott charged down the court after the bucket and made a shot with 18 seconds left in the game to take it to overtime.

In overtime, Scott scored all five of TU's points, canning a three pointer with 1:36 to go to give TU a 71-68 lead. But a three point play by Marcus Parker tied the score 71-71. A foul with 9 seconds remaining gave Tyler Sparks a chance at the free throw line, as he hit one shot to give Findlay a 72-71 lead. A desperation three point attempt by Austin Smith fell short as the Oilers got the win.

Scott led TU with 27 points and 5 assists, while DeAngelo Jordan had 13 points. Travis Spahr also had 14 points with 9 rebounds.

Dragons Get Cold Again

Tiffin University (2-24) shot 54 percent in the first half and played aggressively in playing Hillsdale to a 29-29 tie at halftime, but could not keep it going in the second half, shooting 31 percent in falling in a close one 67-56. The Dragons came out of the halftime lockerroom and didn't make a field goal for over 9 minutes as Hillsdale amassed a 15 point lead. TU managed to get as close as 5 points late in the game but Hillsdale outscored TU 15-9 over the final 5:00 to put the game away. TU had 17 turnovers in the game leading to 20 Hillsdale points. Rafael Cuellar led the Dragons with 12 points while Brian Scott had 10 points. DeAngelo Jordan had 8 points and tied Mohammed Fall with 7 rebounds apiece.

There have been numerous games this season where the Dragons have had the lead or have been within 5 points of their opponent and have been unable to close out the game. The Dragons have a tough Findlay squad next who have the Preseason GLIAC Player of the Year in Nathon Hyde. Findlay is the defending NCAA Division II Champions.