CANTON, Ohio (December 19, 2008) - Lake Erie College came from behind with its hustle to outscore Grace College by nine in the second half, forcing the Canton Comfort Inn Tournament game into the first of three overtimes before losing 102-95. Lake Erie, who didn't shoot as well as its opponents in the first half of Friday night's game, picked up the pace and outdid the Lancers the remainder of the way, however the line proved to be a crucial element in Grace's rise to victory as it finished the game with 13 more points from the spot in only seven more trips.

The lead changed hands twice in the first half, with Grace taking a nine-point advantage into the break, 39-30 after shooting 50-percent from the field (15-for-29) as compared to the Storm's 42-percent (10-for-24). Grace scored 24 points in the paint, while Lake Erie got just six. 

The Storm defense came out in the second half like sharks descending on prey in the open water, forcing Grace into eight turnovers in less than 10 minutes of play. Lake Erie cut the lead to three at 41-38 at the 17-minute mark, but Grace didn't falter just yet, taking its lead back up to 12 at 13:44. The Storm then went on a 20-7 run over the next 10 minutes to take its first lead of the half at 58-57 on two free throws by senior forward Derrick Thornton (University Heights, Ohio/Lutheran East).

A couple traded baskets, followed by four points from Thornton and a bucket each by senior forward Rick Leasure (Concord, Ohio/Riverside) and freshman forward Matt Grendel (Independence, Ohio/Independence) and Lake Erie had its largest lead of the game at 66-61 with three minutes remaining in regulation. Grace went 4-for-4 from the line and hit three of its six field goal attempts to close out the half as the Storm went 2-for-4 from the line and 2-for-5 from the field with its final shot missing the mark as time expired with the score knotted at 72.

In the first overtime, Lake Erie scored eight of its 11 points from the field, while Grace took seven of its 11 points from the stripe. The Storm's Scott Aston (Painesville, Ohio/Harvey) made a layup with three seconds left on the clock to tie the score at 83 and send the game into its second overtime.

In the second bonus period, each team scored just six points to force a third overtime with the score tied at 89. Then in the final five-minute bonus, Grace outscored Lake Erie 13-5 as it connected on four of its eight attempts from the field. The Storm had three layups.

The Storm had four players score in double figures, including Thornton with a team-high of 32. He also led the team with nine rebounds. Leasure added 18 points, six rebounds and five steals and Aston finished with 14 points, followed by sophomore Ethan Bradshaw's (Cincinnati, Ohio/Harmony Prep) 10.

Lake Erie (3-10) will play in the consolation game at 1 p.m. against either tournament host Malone or Cincinnati Christian.