PAINESVILLE, Ohio—The Lake Erie College men's basketball team was unable to overcome the Ferris State University Bulldogs in their Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opener Thursday (Dec. 4), falling 83-62.

The Bulldogs got out to a fast start, outscoring the Storm 13-4 at the first media timeout.  Following the timeout, Trey Howard (Lima, Ohio/Lima) hit a pair of free-throws to narrow the gap to six but the Bulldogs continued to play well offensively, building the lead to ten with eight minutes to play in the first half. 

Michael Morris (New Palestine, Ind./New Palestine) hit a three-pointer, followed by a free-throw by Sean Howard (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) to cut the gap to eight but the Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run to gain their biggest lead of the half at 17.  They maintained the lead throughout the remainder of the opening half, taking a 38-21 lead into the locker room.

Morris led the Storm with six first half points.  Roy Alexander (Columbus, Ohio/Walnut Grove) had five.  Trey Howard had four while Andy Bosley (Columbus, Ohio/Orange), Sean Howard and Nick Wells (Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent.-St. Mary) had two apiece.

Bosley and Jamil Dudley (Massillon, Ohio/Massilon) combined for the first five points of the second half as the Storm trimmed the lead.  A traditional three by Wells brought the Storm within 11 but the Bulldogs answered with a quick run. 

Alexander shined in the second half, scoring six points in the opening ten minutes but the Storm were unable to cut the Bullsdog lead, trailing 58-44 with 10 minutes to go.  The Storm brought the lead down to 11 in the final ten minutes but was unable to overcome the Bulldog advantage.

Wells and Alexander ended the game with 13 points apiece to lead the Storm while combining for nine rebounds.  Dudley ended the game with eight points while Bosley had seven.  Sean Howard, Collin Barth (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) and Trey Howard had four apiece.  Steve Walczak (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy) had a team-high six rebounds. 

The Storm shot 42% (21-of-50) from the floor.  The Lake Erie bench outgained their counterparts 37-18. 

The Storm is back in action Saturday (Dec. 6) against Grand Valley State University in Painesville.

-LEC-