Peyton Powers

Box Score

Tiffin Tiffin 4-13,2-7 G-MAC

Lake Erie LEC 13-5,6-4 G-MAC

Tiffin Tiffin

4-13,2-7 G-MAC

Final

Jan. 23, 2025

Lake Erie LEC

13-5,6-4 G-MAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Tiffin Tiffin	30	40	70
Lake Erie LEC	37	41	78

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/23/2025 11:55:00 PM

Storm Holds Off Tiffin for Thrilling 78-70 Victory

Next Game:

at Ashland

1/25/2025 | 3 PM

Next Game

Full Schedule

Jan. 25 (Sat) / 3 PM

at Ashland

History

Recap
Roster

PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's basketball team faced the Tiffin Dragons on Thursday, emerging with a hard-fought 78-70 victory. The Storm continue to dominate on their home court, improving to an impressive 10-1 record at the Osborne Center and 13-5 overall this season.

Lake Erie holds firm in fourth place in the G-MAC standings (6-4), trailing Findlay (9-1), Hillsdale (9-1), and Kentucky Wesleyan (7-2). Notably, the Storm handed the Chargers their only loss of the season and are responsible for one of the two defeats suffered by the Panthers.

Game Recap

The Storm came out strong, scoring on their first three possessions to jump to an early 7-2 lead. However, the Dragons quickly responded, flipping the score to 11-7 in their favor. This back-and-forth action set the tone for a roller-coaster first half. Over the next five minutes, Lake Erie outscored Tiffin by 12 to take a 26-18 lead. But in the blink of an eye, the Dragons countered with a 10-0 run to regain the lead, 28-26. The Storm closed the half on a mini-run of their own, heading into the break with a 37-30 advantage.

The second half proved just as competitive, albeit without the wild scoring runs and constant lead changes. Lake Erie never relinquished the lead, but their largest margin was only eight points. At the 10-minute mark, the score was tied 48-48, and the Osborne Center crowd, which had been lively all night, fell momentarily silent as the lead evaporated. The Storm regrouped and surged ahead by seven, but with just 3:48 remaining, their advantage had narrowed to a precarious 61-60.

From that moment, senior Derrick Anderson took over. Over the next 45 seconds, Anderson scored seven crucial points, starting with a three-pointer and followed by four consecutive free throws. The free throws came after a Tiffin player fouled out and exchanged heated words with the referee, leading to a technical foul. Anderson converted both technical shots and the one-and-one free throws, pushing Lake Erie's lead to 67-60.

Though the Dragons continued to battle, they were unable to recover from this pivotal sequence, ultimately falling to the Storm, 78-70.

Analysis

In a poetic twist of fate, the Storm avenged their 78-70 loss to Tiffin just 12 days ago with a victory by the exact same score on their home court. A similar storyline played out this past Saturday when Lake Erie hosted Hillsdale. After losing a tightly contested game at Hillsdale two weeks earlier, the Storm earned a signature 69-67 victory on their home hardwood. The takeaway? Good things happen when the Storm suit up at home. However, the road ahead poses a significant challenge. Lake Erie will play six of their next eight games on the road before closing the season with a home stand against Northwood (2-8) and Findlay (9-1). This upcoming stretch will be pivotal in defining the team's identity. Good teams protect their home court; great teams find ways to win on the road.

In the first half, the starting lineup of Cameron Johnson, Derrick Anderson, Kai Bloom, Jake Leibacher, and Aidan Filippini delivered an efficient offensive performance, shooting 13-of-20 (65%) from the field. Conversely, the bench struggled, going just 2-of-13 (15.4%). While the second unit has been reliable all season, tonight they allowed Tiffin to hang around and keep the game more competitive than it needed to be.

Another area of concern was the Storm's three-point shooting. Lake Erie made just one three-pointer in the first 25 minutes, starting 1-of-9 from beyond the arc. They finished slightly better at 4-of-20 (20%), but it marked one of their worst shooting performances of the season. Consistency from deep remains an Achilles heel for the Storm, but thankfully, it didn't cost them the win tonight.

Lake Erie's offensive identity has emerged strongly in recent games, with each of the six leading scorers from tonight's game bringing a unique skill set. Derrick Anderson uses his quickness and craftiness to create scoring opportunities, while Kai Bloom's defense and ability to push the pace in transition are key to the Storm's success. Cameron Johnson excels at breaking down defenders in isolation, showing the ability to create his own shot against any defender. Jake Leibacher is a high basketball IQ player, known for picking his battles wisely and doing whatever it takes to help the team win. Caleb Piks is a versatile all-around player, using his jumper to score efficiently from various spots on the floor. Finally, Joshua Dames is a streaky three-point shooter capable of winning games when he's hot, and when his shot isn't falling, he makes his presence felt on defense, leading the team in steals.

As usual, Lake Erie out-shot their opponent 64-48 in field goals tonight, aided by forcing 15 turnovers, sending the Dragons to the line for 28 free throws, and winning the rebounding battle with a +5 margin. In their 18 games so far, the Storm have attempted 268 more shots than their opponents, averaging nearly 15 additional attempts per game.

The Matchup

With Thursday's win, Lake Erie improves to 17-12 all-time against Tiffin and 15-6 over the past decade. The teams split their meetings this season 1-1, and they'll look forward to continuing their rivalry in the 2025-2026 campaign.

Looking Ahead

Next up for the Storm is a road matchup versus Ashland this Saturday at 3 p.m. The Eagles are looking for revenge after Lake Erie shocked them with a 86-82 defeat earlier this season. Ashland was projected to finish fourth in the G-MAC this season, and while their 10-7 record may sound underachieving, four of these loses came at the hands of ranked opponents. The Eagles are a very strong team all-around and the Storm will need to play at their best to come out victorious.

Ashland is led by their 6'7 Redshirt Junior Maceo Williams, who is currently leading the G-MAC in Points/Game (21.6), Rebounds/Game (9.5), and Field Goal Percentage (66.7%). Additionally, 6'6 Senior Stefan Stanic is leading the conference in Blocks with 23.

Ashland Eagles' Strengths: