PAINESVILLE, Ohio - The Lake Erie College men's basketball team dominated the glass on its way to an 88-62 triumph over the Davis & Elkins College Senators on Monday (Jan. 4) night at the Jerome T. Osborne Family Athletic & Wellness Center.
 
The Storm (6-12) doubled up on the Senators in the rebounding battle and had two players with double-digit rebounding nights.
 
Senior Darnell Campbell (Cleveland, Ohio/Collinwood) finished with his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The 6-foot-6 swingman also registered three blocks, two steals and a monster put-back dunk with 7:10 left that helped finish off the Senators (3-3), who played just their sixth game of the season and their first since Dec. 20.
 
Freshman center Garrick Sims (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) nearly had his second double-double of the season with 10 rebounds and nine points.
 
"We needed that win," Storm head coach Cliff Hunt said. "We've been playing better lately and tonight we played with a lot of energy.
 
"We wore them down a little bit. This was our 18th game and they were playing their sixth. We were just in better game shape than they were."
 
Lake Erie fell behind by five points early, but the Storm was able to climb back with the help of 10 first-half points by junior point guard Antonio Kidd (Cleveland, Ohio/Lakewood).
 
The Storm eventually took the lead later in the first half, snapping a 24-24 tie with a 7-0 run that included five points by Kidd.
 
Lake Erie took a 38-33 lead into halftime.
 
The Senators were able to keep the game close in the early parts of the second half, but the Storm went on an enormous run over the final 11:14 of the game.
 
Lake Erie out-scored Davis & Elkins, 35-11, in that final stretch of the game. The Storm exercised a 28-9 rebounding edge in the second half, picking up a 17-0 advantage in second-chance points.
 
"We knew we had a size advantage coming in," Hunt said. "They play the perimeter game, so we knew if we could contest shots and control the boards, we'd have a pretty good chance against a very good team."
 
Campbell nearly put up his entire double-double in the second half, contributing 11 points and eight boards.
 
"He's our lone senior so we're always excited when he plays that well," Hunt said. "Even when he didn't make a shot he gave himself a chance to make a play."
 
The Storm limited the Senators to just 35 percent (23-for-65) shooting in the game, while hitting 52 percent (34-for-66) of its own shots from the field. It was just the third time this season the Storm shot better than 50 percent. Lake Erie also shot 8-for-19 from long-range.
 
Lake Erie had several players reach career-highs in its 88-point outburst, which is a season-high. It also was the largest margin of victory for the Storm since Dec. 29, 2008 when Lake Erie beat Brock (Can.) by 28 points (83-55).
 
Freshman guard Alex Davis (Macedonia, Ohio/Nordonia) scored a career-high 12 points to lead a bench group that out-scored the Senators, 30-12. Sophomore guard Matt Grendel (Independence, Ohio/Independence) added six points and tied a career-high with eight boards.
 
Freshman forward Eric Worthey (South Euclid, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) added eight points and matched a career-high with seven rebounds.
 
Kidd chipped in with 12 points and matched a career-high with seven assists.
 
Junior guard Ethan Bradshaw (Cincinnati, Ohio/Harmony Prep) had 14 points.
 
P.J. Turner paced the Senators with 19 points and eight assists, while Reggie Cook added 10.
 
The Storm will return to the floor on Saturday (Jan. 9) at Central State University for the start of three straight road games. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. and will follow the women's game which begins at 2 p.m. Lake Erie will not play in Painesville until Jan. 30 when it hosts Ohio Dominican in a double-header that starts at 2 p.m.
 
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