To win games, Tiffin University's going to need to get offense from more than just Joe Graessle.
The Dragons really didn't Saturday, and as a result they lost to Michigan Tech, 75-55.
As usual, TU's junior guard was the team's top offensive force. He scored 25 points in 31 minutes. The problem was that his teammates only combined for 30, and no one other than Graessle scored in double figures.
Guard Mike Boan scored nine points, but he was only 3 of 9 from the field. No one else had more than five for TU.
"We've got to find a way to get Joe Graessle some scoring help," Dragon coach John Hill said. "When he's the only one that the other team has to focus on, you can't win."
Michigan Tech (7-2, 5-1 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) didn't have to worry about point distribution. The Huskies had four players score 11 points or more, and they were led by Phil Romback, a forward who had no problem stepping behind the 3-point line and launching.
Fact Box
Michigan Tech 75, Tiffin 55
Michigan Tech (7-2, 5-1):Phil Rombach 7-1-21; Ali Haldar 4-3-11; Austin Armga 5-2-12; Alex Culy 5-0-13; Ben Stelzer 1-0-3; T.J. Brown 3-0-6; Jordan Chartier 0-0-0; Matt Esters 2-1-5; Connor McLeod 0-0-0; Taylor Hecht 0-0-0; Luke Heller 1-0-2; Anthony Katona 0-0-0; Kyle Stankowski 1-0-2. Totals: 29-7-75.
Tiffin (3-6, 1-4): Eric Roby 0-2-2; Mike Boan 3-3-9; Cody Dennison 1-0-2; Joe Graessle 9-6-25; Isaiah Twine 1-0-2; Sarwan Khan 0-2-2; Brandon Sackey 0-2-2; Mohamed Rage 0-2-2; Andrew Bendolph 2-1-5; Jonathan Sutherlin 1-0-2; Khaleal McCormick 1-0-2. Totals: 19-16-55.
Halftime: Michigan Tech 37-18.
Field goals: Michigan Tech 29-56; Tiffin 19-52.
Foul shots: Michigan Tech 7-15; Tiffin 16-21.
3-point goals: Michigan Tech 10-21 (Romback 6-7, Culy 3-6, Stelzer 1-5, Chartier 0-2, Hecht 0-1); Tiffin 1-13 (Graessle 1-5, Dennison 0-3, Bendolph 0-2, Brown 0-1, McCormick 0-1, Twine 0-1).
Rebounds: Michigan Tech 34; Tiffin 31.
Turnovers: Michigan Tech 13; Tiffin 14.
Assists: Michigan Tech 17; Tiffin 13 (Bendolph 4
Romback went 6 of 7 from deep, accounting for all but one of his squad's 3-pointers as he and his teammates shook off an early deficit and pulled away from TU (3-6, 1-4).
Romback finished with 21 points, four rebounds, two blocks.
"We knew (the Dragons) were going to play zone based upon all the tapes," Michigan Tech coach Kevin Luke said. "We just prepared (our guys) to not get too fast too early. (Romback) is the guy who's going to be open, because he shoots the least of the 3's. He's capable of doing it; tonight he stepped up."
Hill said the Dragons had some defensive breakdowns that led to open 3's.
"We wanted to change from a man to a zone and we couldn't make it happen," Hill said. "They hit three 3's on us in the first half because we were messed up. We had one guy playing zone and four guys playing man. We're screaming, they don't recognize it and they don't get out."
Hill said TU might modify its defense.
"If it's gotta be that we become a man team or a zone team to take away some of those mistakes, then we might have to do that," Hill said. "We're trying to go and get back and do other things, but we might have to make that change."
Tiffin started the game on an 8-3 run, completed when Eric Roby made a pair of free throws at the 16:30 mark. But Roby injured himself soon after and logged only eight minutes. The team also was without Michael Bouley, who missed the contest with a hurt shoulder.
The Dragons made it 10-6 on a Graessle basket with about 16 minutes left, but then went cold as the Huskies went on a 16-0 run that TU never recovered from.
