Late run dooms NMU Men's Hoops

Courtesy of NMU Athletics

TIFFIN, Ohio – The Northern Michigan University men’s basketball team earned a split in Ohio in its final game before the Holiday break with a 62-55 loss at Tiffin University on Tuesday (Dec. 18). After NMU’s first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win on Thursday, the Dragons closed out Tuesday’s game on a 10-3 run after the Wildcats tied the game.

With the loss, NMU falls to 2-7 overall and 1-5 in the GLIAC. Tiffin is now 4-6 and 2-4 in conference action.

Sophomore forward Kendall Jackson tied the game at 52 with 3:23 left in the game after a pair of free throws. The Dragons then went on a 10-0 run before junior forward TJ Cameron buried a three-pointer with four seconds left for the seven-point defeat.

Tiffin held a 29-27 halftime lead after seven ties and six lead changes in the first 20 minutes. Junior forward Matt Craggs had nine points in the first half.

Craggs finished with a team-high 18 points. Senior forward Scooter Johnson had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Stephen Pelkofer (11) was also in double figures. Jackson finished with 11 points and four rebounds.

NMU shot 42 percent (19-for-45) from the field, 47 percent (7-for-15) from the beyond the arc and went 10-for-16 from the charity stripe.

Joe Graessle had a game-high 21 points while Isaiah Twine (14) and Cody Dennison (11) were also in double figures.

The home squad shot 36 percent (21-for-58) from the floor and 28 percent (5-for-18) from deep.

Northern gets back to action with its final non-conference game on Dec. 30 at Lewis University.