CANTON, Ohio (December 20, 2008) - Junior center Veljko Lalovic (Podgorica, Montenegro/Lake Region) recorded his best performance of the season on his way to being named to the all-tournament team as Lake Erie College defeated Cincinnati Christian University, 95-76 in the consolation round of the Canton Comfort Inn Tournament at Malone University. Lalovic had season-highs of 24 points and eight rebounds to go along with three blocks, helping the Storm easily win its fourth game of the season.

Although the Storm handily won the game, in the beginning, the outcome didn't look so predictable. Lake Erie did take a 6-0 lead in the opening three minutes with a bucket and free throw by Lalovic and a 3-pointer by freshman Jimmy Phillis (Salem, Ohio/United), and then went on to hold a 10-4 lead at 13:43, however, the Eagles slowly responded throughout the next few minutes. Cincinnati Christian tied the game at 16 with 9:24 on the clock and even went ahead briefly. The Storm tied the score at 18 with eight minutes remaining in the half and then proceeded to outscore the Eagles 23-15 in order to earn an eight-point advantage at the midway point at 41-33.

Lake Erie scored 20 field goals in the second half, seven more than in the first 20-minute period, and outscored the Eagles 54-43. Lake Erie led by as many as 23 with 12 different players getting in on the scoring action. Besides Lalovic's 24 points, other leading scorers for the day included sophomore Ethan Bradshaw (Cincinnati, Ohio/Harmony Prep) with 13 and senior Rick Leasure (Concord, Ohio/Riverside) with 12. Senior Derrick Thornton (University Heights, Ohio/Lutheran East) led the team with nine rebounds and four assists.

Lake Erie (4-10) hosts Brock University, the defending national champion of Canada, on Dec. 29 at 7 p.m.