By Journal Sports Staff

MARQUETTE- A last-second layup by Korab Imami lifted Tiffin (Ohio) to a 57-56 GLIAC victory over the Northern Michigan University men’s basketball team Saturday afternoon at the Berry Events Center in Marquette.

A pair of Terry Nash free throws with 24 seconds left gave the Wildcats (3-6, 1-4 G:LIAC) a 56-55 lead, their first since the game’s opening three minutes.

But Imami hauled in the rebound off of a Jonathan Sutherlin shot and sank the layup to thwart the NMU comeback bid.

Nash posted a game-high 14 points while Kenny Williams also reached double digits in scoring with 10.

Juwan Johnson (13) and Tony Kynard (10) led the Dragons (6-6, 2-3), while Chrisean Marsden finished one point shy of a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds and nine points.

The Dragons opened a 14-point lead on the Wildcats by the 6:24 mark of the first half.

Northern closed out the half on a 13-6 run to trim Tiffin’s advantage to seven going into the locker room. During that run, four different Wildcats netted points, highlighted by a Nash 3-pointer with only 43 seconds remaining.

At 13:58 of the second half, the Wildcats pulled to within three on another Nash tripler, but the Dragons responded with a trey of their own on their next possession to give themselves some breathing room.

By the eight-minute mark, Tiffin had pulled ahead, 49-40. But Northern clawed back into the game, using a 10-3 run to draw within a single basket at 3:09.

After Imami put the Dragons up by four, the Wildcats scored the next two baskets, with Donnell Cegers and Williams both scoring off of their own offensive rebounds.

Williams’s layup pulled NMU to within one at 1:24, setting up the game’s dramatic ending.

Northern’s Isaiah Johnson was the leading scorer off the bench, posting nine points. He also contributed seven rebounds, which was second only to Cegers’ nine.

The Wildcats return to the court at 5 p.m. today, entertaining Ohio Dominican at the BEC.

Information compiled by Senior Sports Writer Craig Remsburg. He can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 251, or via email at cremsburg@miningjournal.net.