CANTON, Ohio (December 13, 2008) - Lake Erie College earned its
second win of the season in day two of the Hoops for Healing
Classic, defeating host Malone University, 59-52 on Saturday
afternoon. Playing in its second game in as many days, the line was
kind to the Storm the second time around as the green and white
shot 76-percent from the stripe to propel past the Pioneers. In the
opening round of the tournament, it was a lack of trips to the
stripe for the Storm and a surplus of appearances at the spot for
its opponent that made the difference. Today, Lake Erie took
advantage of every free chance, hitting 25 of its 33 attempts. The
team's free throw performance was definitely a difference
maker considering all other shooting performances were just about
even for the two competitors.
The score remained close in the first 15 minutes of the contest
with neither team leading by more than four. It wasn't until 5:19
to go in the half with the Storm up 14-12 that Lake Erie put
together an offensive attack that allowed the scoring scales to tip
well in Lake Erie's favor. The Storm outscored Malone 12-3 in the
remaining time to go up 26-15 at the midway point.
Lake Erie held a comfortable lead for much of the second half,
but the hosts kept plugging away until they were able to come
within one with less than two minutes to play at 49-48. With 1:24
to go, the Pioneers committed six fouls in that final time span to
send Lake Erie to the line for a total of 11 tries. The Storm's
Derrick Thornton (University Heights, Ohio/Lutheran East) kicked
off the 8-for-11 free throw effort on a three-point play in which
he swished the freebie after being fouled on a made layup. He
finished the game with his second double double of the season with
team-leading totals of 18 points and 13 rebounds. Sophomore Ethan
Bradshaw (Cincinnati, Ohio/Harmony Prep) gave a solid performance,
going 5-for-8 from the field for 16 points on the way to being
named the Steve Loy Player of the Game. Senior Rick Leasure
(Concord, Ohio/Riverside) contributed 12 points, six rebounds and
two assists.
Lake Erie (2-9) returns home Tuesday for a 7 p.m. contest
against Ohio Dominican University.
