GAME 26
Lake Erie College Storm (10-15) at Ohio Dominican University Panthers (8-15)
When: Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010  at 4 p.m.
Where: Alumni Hall (3,000 capacity) in Columbus, Ohio
Radio Broadcast/Live Audio/Video Stream: www.pressboxproductions.net/odu
Live Stats: None
Series History: Lake Erie leads, 3-0
Last Meeting (Result): Jan. 30, 2010 (Lake Erie won, 68-66, in Painesville, Ohio)

TIP-INS

STORM SEEKING FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN ON SATURDAY: The Lake Erie men's basketball team looks for its fifth straight win on Saturday at Ohio Dominican to close the road portion of its regular season schedule. Lake Erie's four-game winning streak is its longest since a seven-game streak Jan. 26-Feb. 16, 2008. The Storm beat the Panthers, 68-66, on an Antonio Kidd (Cleveland, Ohio/Lakewood) jumper with 0.7 seconds left on Jan. 30 in Painesville. Since that matchup, the Panthers have played just one game, an 80-57 loss to NAIA nationally-ranked Walsh on Feb. 2. The Panthers have had three games either canceled or postponed due to inclement weather since then.

23rd SEASON OF STORM HOOPS: In 23 seasons of Lake Erie men's basketball, the Storm has posted an overall record of 191-376 (.337). However, since opening the 2002-03 season, Lake Erie is 118-96 (.551).

THE PREVIOUS MEETING: Lake Erie picked up a 68-66 win on a last-second jumper by Antonio Kidd at the Jerome T. Osborne Family Athletic & Wellness Center on Jan. 30. John Trew scored 18 of the last 19 points for the Panthers in what was a tight game throughout. Ethan Bradshaw (Cincinnati, Ohio/Harmony Prep) led the Storm with 18 points, while Darnell Campbell (Cleveland, Ohio/Collinwood) added 16 points.

RANK AND FILE: On Feb. 22, No. 8 Indiana (Pa.) will be the sixth ranked team the Storm will play this season and the first at the Osborne Center. Lake Erie has not beaten a ranked team this season, but dropped a pair of two-point games at No. 25 Kentucky Wesleyan and No. 2 Florida Southern (see "Sweating It Out", Page 4).

STORM CLOUDS

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE STORM: Sophomore forward Matt Grendel (Independence, Ohio/Independence) scored a career-high 19 points to lead Lake Erie to a 66-61 win at Gannon on Feb. 15. Neither team led by more than eight points and the lead changed hands 14 times with six ties in the game. The Storm grabbed 13 offensive rebounds (compared to just 11 total rebounds for Gannon) in the first half, but still trailed, 31-30, at the intermission. The Golden Knights, the top defensive team in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, held Lake Erie to just 32 percent (10-31) shooting in the first half. Only Grendel (12) had more than five points at halftime. The Storm gradually took a lead in the second half, going on a 16-5 run, capped by Alex Davis' (Macedonia, Ohio/Nordonia) second three-pointer of the second half, to take a 58-50 lead. Despite missing four free throws down the stretch, Lake Erie was able to seal the win. Ethan Bradshaw (Cincinnati, Ohio/Harmony Prep) scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half.

CAMPBELL CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Senior forward Darnell Campbell moved into sixth place on Lake Erie's all-time scoring list on Monday with his seven points. He now has 1,165 points and is just 12 points shy of passing current Lake Erie assistant coach Rob Williams (2003-07) for fifth all-time. Campbell moved into fourth place all-time in rebounds with his nine on Monday night. He passed Jeremy Damron (1992-96) and now has 553 for his career.

DOUBLING UP: While Campbell is climbing the career charts, he's also piling up double-doubles in the process. The 6-foot-6 swingman has five double-dips in his last eight games and seven times in his last 10 he has finished with a double-double or has been either one point or rebound shy. Campbell now has 12 double-doubles in his Lake Erie career. Also, in 12 games since scoring his 1,000th career point on Dec. 21, Campbell is averaging 14.4 points and 9.2 rebounds.

AT THE MILL: The Storm's win at Gannon's Hammermill Center on Monday night had some historical significance. Lake Erie became the first team since 1985-86 (Cheyney University) to beat the Golden Knights twice in the same season in their building. The two wins in Erie, Pa. are the Storm's lone true road wins of the season.

GOING FOR 800: Junior guard Ethan Bradshaw is just eight points away from 800 for his career with 792 points.

E's PRODUCTION: Bradshaw has also been very good in his last 11 outings, posting averages of 19.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.9 steals. He has double-figure point totals in all 11 of those games and has hit 83.1 percent (69-83) from the free-throw line in that stretch. Bradshaw is the Storm's leading scorer at 15.8 points per game and leads the team with 35 steals.

WINNING 10: With its 10th win of the season on Monday night, the Storm reached the double-digit win plateau for the four time in five years under head coach Cliff Hunt, who has a career record of 82-53.

FIVE STRAIGHT: Lake Erie is also looking for its first five-game winning streak since the 2007-08 season when it compiled winning streaks of five and seven. The Storm has also won four straight at the Jerome T. Osborne Family Athletic & Wellness Center.

TIME BALANCE: The Storm has eight players averaging at least 17 minutes per game and nine players have at least four starts for head coach Cliff Hunt, who has used 11 different starting lineups this season.

CLEANING THE GLASS: Using the GLIAC as a measuring stick, the Storm would lead the league in offensive rebounding with 14.6 per game - two more than every team in the league. Lake Erie would rank second in overall rebounding with 38.0 per game and has nine players averaging at least 2.2 rebounds per game.

3-D IS KEY: In 10 Storm wins, Lake Erie has limited its opponents to just 21.4 percent (42-196) shooting from beyond the arc. But in 15 Storm losses, opponents shoot 43.9 percent (118-269) from long range. Lake Erie is just 1-8 when the opponent shoots at least 40 percent from outside and 9-7 when the opponent is under 40 percent. The Storm has held its last 10 opponents under that mark.

WHERE AT IN THE GLIAC?: On the individual level, junior guard Ethan Bradshaw would rank ninth in the GLIAC in both scoring (15.8 ppg) and free throw percentage (79.9%). Freshman center Garrick Sims (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) would be fifth in offensive rebounds per game (2.2) and third in field goal percentage (55.9%).

KIDD CONNECTING FROM DEEP: In the last nine games, junior guard Antonio Kidd is shooting 43.4% (20-of-46) from three-point range.  Prior to that, he was hitting on just 28.6% from beyond the arc. Kidd is third on the team in scoring in the last 11 games, averaging 10.4 points.

FROSH DEVELOPMENT: One key to the Lake Erie basketball program as it continues its transition to Division II is the development of its four-year players. Head coach Cliff Hunt may have found a gem in freshman Garrick Sims. The 6-8 center is averaging 7.6 points and 5.6 boards and his 55.9 field-goal percentage leads the team.

D-FENCE: The Storm delivered dominating defensive performances in two straight games on Feb. 6 and Feb. 13, holding Central State and Urbana to a combined 29.8 percent (39-131) shooting from the field, including an 8-for-43 mark (19 percent) from three-point range. The Storm also forced 36 turnovers in the games and out-rebounded the Blue Knights and Marauders, 102-89.

DOING THE DIRTY WORK: In its Feb. 13 home win over Urbana, the Storm tied school records for total rebounds (59) and offensive rebounds (26). Lake Erie has topped 50 rebounds four times this season.

HANDING OUT HELPERS: In a Feb. 6 win over Central State, the Storm totaled 18 assists on just 27 field goals, the second-highest total this season, behind a 21-assist game at Florida Southern on Dec. 28. Lake Erie had five players with multiple assists on Saturday, including six by leading scorer Ethan Bradshaw. It was the fourth time this season - and the first since a Dec. 29 win against Missouri-St. Louis - that Lake Erie has had five players with multiple assists. The Storm is 3-1 in those games.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Storm knocked off Ohio Dominican on Jan. 30 for its first win of the season against a future GLIAC foe. Lake Erie fell to No. 4 Findlay and Grand Valley State earlier this season for its 1-2 record against the GLIAC. Last season, the Storm was 2-2 against future GLIAC foes, sweeping ODU, while losing to UF and GVSU. Ohio Dominican will join the GLIAC in 2010-11 along with Lake Erie College.

SWEATING IT OUT: Prior to a 68-66 win on Jan. 30 over Ohio Dominican, the Storm had dropped three straight two-point games (all on the road, two to ranked teams), the last coming in its previous game against Davis & Elkins on Jan. 25. The Storm tied the game in with 13 seconds left, but the Senators pulled out the win, hitting a shot with 1.1 seconds left. On Dec. 28, the Storm had No. 2 Florida Southern on the ropes, leading by two with under 10 seconds left, but the Mocassins hit four free throws in that span for the 88-86 win. LEC led that game by as many as 11 in the first half. The Storm turned an 18-point deficit into a four-point lead with 1:38 left against No. 25 Kentucky Wesleyan on Dec. 12, but the Panthers scored the last six points in the game to steal the 79-77 decision.

HALFTIME INDICATOR: For the first time this season, the Storm lost a game in which it led at halftime in the Jan. 23 loss at Urbana. The Storm is now 7-1 when it leads at halftime and 3-14 when it is trailing at that point.

OFFENSIVE OUTPUT: In a Dec. 28 loss 88-86 loss to No. 2 Florida Southern featured the Storm's most impressive offensive outing of the season. It was the first time since the season-opener against Ohio Valley (a triple-overtime 86-84 win) on Nov. 15 that the Storm scored more than 73 points. Lake Erie had four players in double figures including three with 20 or more points. Antonio Kidd, Ethan Bradshaw had 21 points apiece while Darnell Campbell scored 20 points for the second consecutive game. Alex Davis chipped in 10 points. The Storm shot 52.3 percent (34-65) from the field and buried a season-high 10 three-pointers on 21 attempts.

WILD OPENER: Lake Erie played arguably its wildest season opener on Nov. 15, outlasting Ohio Valley 86-84 in triple overtime.  It was the longest game ever played at the Jerome T. Osborne Family Athletic & Wellness Center.  It was the Storm's first overtime victory since Dec. 19, 2006 and evened their record in overtime since 1994 at 4-4.