Photo by Kyle Niermann

(HILLSDALE, Mich.) – Presence at the free throw line was the difference in Saturday's game between Lake Erie and Hillsdale as the Storm fell 71-59 to the Chargers. Both teams made the same amount of field goals both inside and outside of the arc, but the hosts took 21 more foul shots and made 18 overall on the day.

On the opposite end, the Storm shot well from the charity stripe as they made 6-of-7, but had trouble stopping Hillsdale from taking the ball inside.

The Chargers' Patrick Cartier caused the biggest problems for Lake Erie as he led all scorers with 28 points and was 10-for-12 from the field. In addition to that, he went to the foul line 10 times and made eight.

Lake Erie got off to a fast start opening game with the 7-0 run, but that was quickly erased by Hillsdale with a 17-0 run of its own. From there the Storm were left playing catchup. They were able to cut the deficit to five after a 3-pointer by Jackson Burdyshaw (R-Jr., Perry, Ohio / Perry) made the score 43-38 with 11:34 to go in the game, but the Chargers answered with an 11-2 run to keep the comeback at bay.

Gabe Kynard (Sr., Toledo, Ohio / St. John's) led the Storm with 13 points with a pair of triples. Kevin Peterson (So., Cleveland, Ohio / Padua) added 10 points and also drained a pair of 3-pointers.

The Storm will return to the friendly confines of the Osborne Center this Thursday as they host Malone. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. with coverage available on the Great Midwest Digital Network.