PAINESVILLE, Ohio — The Lake Erie Storm Men's basketball team kicked off their 2023-2024 season on Friday, November 10, at home hosting the GMAC/GLIAC Challenge two day tournament. The Storm opened things up against the Lake Superior State University Lakers. Despite a 26-31 halftime lead, Lake Erie would fall in down-to-the-wire fashion, with a final score of 67-63, moving to 0-1 on the young season.
Lake Erie ended the game shooting 25 of 63 as a team with a 39% field goal rating. They finished the game shooting 6 for 18 from behind the arch, at a solid 33% efficiency. The Storm surged out to an early 21-7 lead in the first half, in part to their fast paced defensive and the ability to create turnovers. Lake Erie was able to create 17 turnovers off of eight steals and five blocks, resulting in 13 points off turnovers. The Storm grabbed a total of 36 boards.
Lake Erie was led on the offensive and defensive end by junior center Jonny Manning. Manning would end the game going 7 for 14 from the field and 2 for 4 from three for 21 points, six rebounds, and two assists. Manning went 5 for 6 from the stripe. On the defensive end, Manning had three blocks and also added two steals. Jonny led the team in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals while also posting a team high efficiency rating of 24 in just 28 minutes of play.
Kelvin Swims was the next leading scoring for the Storm with 11 points, off of a 5 for 15 shooting stint. Swims also contributed a team high six assists, five rebounds, one steal, and one block in 33 minutes. Josh Irwin added nine points and three rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench. Damion Williams finished with six points and two boards in 12 minutes off the bench and finished with a team high in usage percentage at 33.59%. With five points in tonight's contest, senior guard Jacob Plantz is just 10 points shy from reaching 1,000 career points.
Lake Erie continues to look for their first win of the season as they continue the GMAC/GLIAC Challenge tournament at the Jerome T. Osborne Family Athletic & Wellness Center, with a day two non conference matchup against the Ferris State University Bulldogs. Northwood University faces off against Lake Superior State University at 4 PM with the Storm versus the Bulldogs to follow. Tip off is at 6 PM.
