(PAINESVILLE, Ohio) – Lake Erie wrapped up the regular season with an 82-72 defeat at the hands of Walsh on Saturday afternoon. Despite the defeat, five Storm seniors put on a show for a packed Osborne Center.

The Cavaliers (22-6, 13-5) were led by House Montague as Christian Montague starred in the first half with 17 of his 19 points to help give the visitors a 49-25 lead at the half. But if that was Act 1, the Storm served as House Capulet after intermission and roared back into the contest.

Four seniors that played their entire collegiate career led the charge right at the start of the Act 2. Mitch Loomis (Malvern, Ohio / Malvern) led off the half with a layup, Gabe Kynard (Toledo, Ohio / St. John's) followed with a 3-pointer thanks to an assist from Ennis Thomas (Westerville, Ohio / Westerville South), and Erron James (Westerville, Ohio / Westerville Central) added a jumper within the first 2:12 of the frame.

The momentum continued with a 39-12 burst over the next 11 minutes. Kaleb Vaughn (Toledo, Ohio / St. John), the fifth senior, also got in the mix with two big assists on triples by Kevin Peterson (So., Clevleand, Ohio / Padua) and a layup on the back end of the run. Another Peterson trey closed the deficit to 64-61 with just under seven minutes to play.

But as it was with Romeo and Juliet, there wasn't a happy ending for the Green and White as Walsh kept its lead. Lake Erie could only get as close as three a few more times the rest of the way, the Cavs answered each time eventually pushing their lead back out as time ran out on the Storm.

Starring for the Storm was none other than Kynard. In his curtain call at the Osborne Center, the all-region standout and the school's all-time leading scorer added 33 more points to his career book. Peterson co-starred with 17 points and was 7-of-11 from the field. He was 3-of-6 behind the arc with all three bonus bombs coming during the Storm's monstrous second half surge. Peterson also threw down a dunk that kept Lake Erie within three on a Vaughn assist as time was winding down.

In addition to Montague's 19 points, four other Cavaliers reached double-figures. Mark Mokros followed with 15 points and nine rebounds.

While this was the end of the regular season for the Storm, the story will continue as they have qualified for the G-MAC Tournament a third consecutive year. The postseason will feature a third act against Findlay. The Storm will go in as the No. 7 seed while the Oilers enter at No. 2 and G-MAC co-champions of the regular season. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Croy Gymnasium.