Box Score

Hillsdale HC 15-3,9-1 G-MAC

Lake Erie LEC 12-5,5-4 G-MAC

Hillsdale HC

15-3,9-1 G-MAC

Final

Jan. 18, 2025

Lake Erie LEC

12-5,5-4 G-MAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Hillsdale HC	37	30	67
Lake Erie LEC	30	39	69

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/18/2025 7:42:00 PM

Down Goes #20 Hillsdale! Lake Erie Takes Down the Chargers in Cinematic Fashion

Next Game:

Tiffin

1/23/2025 | 7:30 PM

Next Game

Full Schedule

Jan. 23 (Thu) / 7:30 PM

Tiffin

History

Recap
Roster

PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's basketball team faced off against the #20-ranked Hillsdale Chargers on Saturday, improbably securing a thrilling 69-67 victory in front of a packed Jerome T. Osborne Center. With marquee wins over Ashland, Kentucky Wesleyan, and now Hillsdale, the Storm have built an impressive résumé, propelling them to a 12-5 start and fourth place in the G-MAC standings.

Game Recap

The game began disastrously for the Storm, as Hillsdale surged to an early 19-8 lead within the first five minutes, fueled by 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc. For most of the first half, Lake Erie found itself buried in a double-digit deficit, trailing by as many as 17 points. However, with four minutes left in the period and the score at 37-24, the Storm's defense clamped down, holding the Chargers scoreless while closing the half on a crucial 6-0 run. Entering halftime down just seven points felt like a victory considering how the game had unfolded.

Hillsdale regrouped and stretched their lead back to 11 after the first few minutes ticked off the second half, but before you knew it, the Chargers 49-38 lead had entirely disappeared. Somehow, someway, the new score read 51-51, and the momentum was all the way in the Storm's favor. A free throw from Micah Bays with 8:36 left gave Lake Erie its first lead since the opening minutes. Additionally, an unlikely hero then emerged: Josh Irwin. One of the main heartbeats of the team, the 6'7 redshirt-junior logs less than 10 minutes per night, yet today, Irwin used his post presence to dominate on multiple consecutive possessions when the game was in the balance. His reliability helped maintain a tied game at 58-all when the starters re-entered with six minutes left.

The final five minutes were packed with drama and stretched to 30 minutes of real-time. Both teams were in the bonus, plays required video review, clock issues arose, and every timeout was exhausted. Despite the slowed pace, the intensity only grew as the teams traded the lead seven times down the stretch. With 37 seconds remaining and Lake Erie trailing 67-66, Caleb Piks delivered in the clutch, driving past his defender and nailing a pull-up jumper to put the Storm ahead. The Chargers had two chances to respond but came up empty, sealing the Storm's hard-fought 69-67 victory.

Analysis

After the first 10 minutes of play, it seemed improbable that the Storm had any chance of victory. Hillsdale's offense looked fluid, with constant movement and capable shooters at every position. On the other hand, every Lake Erie possession felt like a grind. The Storm, who have thrived all season on driving and kicking, found themselves stymied by the Chargers' notoriously stout defense, which cut off all driving lanes. This forced Lake Erie into aimless perimeter passing that often ended with a player resorting to isolation plays or forcing contested three-pointers as the shot clock expired. The result? The Storm hoisted 19 three-point attempts in the first half alone. For perspective, in their previous matchup with Hillsdale two weeks ago, Lake Erie attempted just 17 threes the entire game. The 19 first-half three-point attempts also marked their highest in any half across their last 14 conference games dating back to last season.

The single biggest factor in Lake Erie's upset win was offensive rebounding. The Storm's remarkable +15 margin on the offensive glass (18-3) was the second-largest in-conference advantage since Coach Conley took over in 2016-17 (+16 vs. Ohio Dominican last season). Even more impressive, Lake Erie allowed zero second-chance points—a feat not achieved in over three years (last done vs. Oberlin on 1/12/2022).

At halftime, Lake Erie's starters combined for just ten points. All season the bench has given amazing production, but today, their second unit effectively won them the game. Without Todd Simons, Joshua Dames, Micah Bays, and others providing the only signs of life in the first period, there is no comeback to be staged later on. The Storm bench outscored Hillsdale's reserves 37-14.

The Storm attempted 23 more field goals than Hillsdale (69-46), yet both teams made 25 apiece. This 25/69 performance (36.2%) is the worst efficiency in a winning effort since 12/17/2022 against ODU (23/64, 35.9%).

The Matchup

Beating Hillsdale has been a monumental challenge throughout the long-storied rivalry between these two programs. Saturday's victory marked just the fourth win in 29 matchups against the Chargers. Interestingly, all four victories have come at home, where the Storm hold a respectable 4-9 record against Hillsdale. On the road, however, the Chargers have remained an unsolved puzzle, as Lake Erie has yet to secure a victory in 16 attempts. Their last matchup, just two weeks ago, came heartbreakingly close to breaking that streak, but the Storm's comeback effort fell just short in another thrilling installment of this rivalry.

Looking Ahead

Lake Erie now turns its attention to perhaps the most intriguing game of the season: a rematch with the Tiffin Dragons. Tiffin entered the season projected to finish last in the conference and, for much of the year, has lived up to those expectations—until their stunning upset of the Storm last week. Lake Erie, fresh off a win over conference-favorite Kentucky Wesleyan, was riding high before being brought back to earth by the Dragons.

This time, however, the Storm will have home-court advantage, where they've been nearly unbeatable. All of their signature victories this season have come on their own floor, and they'll look to maintain that dominance when they host Tiffin on Thursday, January 23rd, at 7:30 p.m. Consistency has been the Achilles' heel of this team, but they'll aim to string together back-to-back impressive performances in front of the Jerome T. Osborne Center crowd.

Tiffin's Strengths:

Getting to the Free Throw Line: 2nd most attempts in the conference.
Defending the Three: 3rd fewest three-pointers allowed; opponents shoot the 3rd worst percentage.
Blocked Shots: 3rd most blocks per game.

Tiffin's Weaknesses:

Three-Point Shooting: Worst in the conference (last in makes and 30.8% shooting).
Rebounding: Last in total boards and rebounding margin.
Turnovers: 2nd most in the conference and worst assist-to-turnover ratio.

The Dragons rotate 10 players averaging over 13 minutes per game, providing depth and balance to their lineup.

Projected Starters: