PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's basketball team battled against Malone on Saturday afternoon, dominating in an 87-65 victory. The Storm were able to pull away late in the first period, entering the break up 47-34. Lake Erie quickly extended its lead out of halftime and never looked back. With the win, the Storm earned their first conference victory of the season, handed Malone its first conference loss, and improved to 6-4 overall.
Game Recap
It was an incredibly back-and-forth contest early, as after nine minutes of play the score was knotted at 19-apiece with five lead changes. However, Lake Erie closed the first half with much-improved offensive efficiency, scoring 27 points in the final 9:09 of action. In the opening period, the Storm dominated the offensive glass by a +12 margin, defended the three-point line at an elite level (Malone went 1/7 from deep), and benefited from the Pioneers shooting just 7/14 at the free-throw line.
A 16-2 run coming out of halftime was exactly what the doctor ordered, as Amari Williams opened the half with 10 straight points, including a 3-for-3 stretch from beyond the arc. While the Pioneers hung around briefly, they never cut the deficit below 20 points, as the Storm continued to play the brand of basketball that put them in control against a talented Malone squad.
Analysis
Despite another poor shooting night across the board (38/28/62 shooting splits), the Storm won in their typical fashion: out-hustling their opponent for 40 minutes. Lake Erie finished with 21 offensive rebounds from 11 different players. Rokas Castillo led the way with four, matching Malone's entire team total by himself. This edge was the primary reason the Storm won in such convincing fashion, as they scored 24 more second-chance points than the Pioneers.
After scoring 20 points at Hillsdale in a tightly contested double-overtime loss last weekend, followed by a two-point outing in a one-point loss to Slippery Rock, Amari Williams responded in a big way with another 20-point performance. He scored 10 straight points in just a 2:32 span to open the second half, ripping the game wide open and allowing the Storm to play comfortably the rest of the way. With a better night at the free-throw line (3/9), his scoring total could have been even higher.
Last game, the Storm held Slippery Rock to just 3/13 shooting from deep. Today was even more impressive, as Malone went just 2/12 from downtown. In their previous contest, the Pioneers connected on 10 of 19 three-point attempts and needed every one in a 68-67 win over Cedarville. From Lake Erie's perspective, allowing just five made three-pointers over a two-game span is remarkably impressive, a feat the program had not accomplished in nearly two full years.
A 22-point G-MAC win is hard to come by, as the conference is loaded with talent from top to bottom. Only once in the past five seasons have the Storm won by a larger margin in a conference matchup, doing so last year in a 23-point victory over Cedarville.
The Matchup
After splitting last season 1-1, with each team earning a five-point victory, the Storm evened the all-time series at 14-14 with Saturday's 22-point win.
Looking Ahead
The Storm have one game remaining before winter break, as they will battle Division II Penn State DuBois in the final non-conference matchup of the season. The Nittany Lions compete in the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC), which consists of 12 other Penn State branch campuses.
Penn State DuBois enters the contest at 4-8, coming off back-to-back losses to Penn State Hazleton (105-66) and Berkeley (88-78). That said, the Nittany Lions will come in well-rested after an 11-day break.
