Columbus, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's basketball team hit the road to battle Ohio Dominican on Saturday afternoon and were handed their first loss in over a month, falling 87-69. The Panthers led nearly the entire way, slowly expanding their advantage to seven by halftime before pulling away behind a hot-shooting second half.
With the loss, the Storm move to 10-5 overall and 4-3 in conference play. As they head into three straight road games with a 1-4 record away from home, Lake Erie will need to find a way to start faster in opposing buildings.
Game Recap
In the first half, Amari Williams was the offensive engine for the Storm and the reason the game stayed competitive, scoring 15 of the team's 28 first-half points. His shooting from deep (4/8) was crucial, as the rest of the team combined to go just 2/13 from beyond the arc and found themselves down 10 points just nine minutes into the game. Despite losing ground inside, where Ohio Dominican generated easier looks in the paint and in transition, the Storm still trailed by only seven, 35-28, at the break.
In the second half, both teams were able to generate easier offense. Lake Erie executed better offensively and found higher-quality looks around the basket, but the shots still wouldn't fall from deep. The Storm went just 3/19 from three-point range, struggling to get the momentum they needed to mount a comeback. With 7:18 remaining, the Storm were within eight (62-54), but Ohio Dominican quickly pushed the margin back to double digits and never let it fall below ten the rest of the game.
Analysis
Amari Williams posted a team season-high 29 points, going 9/19 from the field and 5/13 from deep. The Storm's leading scorer and 11th in the G-MAC, the transfer from Indian River State is averaging 14.1 points per game on 40/37/67 shooting splits, while also leading the team in rebounding.
Outside of 10 points on 4/11 shooting from Caelum Ethridge and a team-high five offensive rebounds from Aidan Filippini, the Storm bench was unusually quiet. Offense was extremely hard to come by, as non-starters combined to shoot just 7/31 (22.6%).
Two starters, Rokas Castillo and Gio Moore, each attempted their fewest field goals of the season. Moore finished 1/4, while Castillo did not attempt a shot from the field and scored just two points at the free-throw line. Combine that with Gavin Welch being limited due to foul trouble, and it becomes clear why points were difficult to come by.
Despite the final score, this game was much closer on the margins than it appeared. The Storm turned in their worst free-throw shooting performance of the season, going 14/23 (60.9%). Ohio Dominican, meanwhile, shot 22/26 (84.6%), the best mark by any Storm opponent this season. ODU also went 6/9 from deep in the second half, another anomaly that helped them pull away. In reality, these teams played a very tight game, and without some improbable shooting variance, this result could have looked much different.
The Matchup
The loss ends a seven-game winning streak for the Storm against the Panthers and moves the all-time series to 21-14 in favor of Lake Erie.
Looking Ahead
Remaining on the road, Lake Erie will next face Findlay this upcoming Thursday. The Oilers were the preseason favorites to win the G-MAC and were previously ranked No. 23 earlier this season, but have gone just 4-4 over a tough eight-game stretch.
Findlay is a well-balanced machine, playing 11 players at least 10 minutes per game and featuring seven players averaging eight or more points. That depth has translated into a conference-high 91.2 points per game.
Their leading scorer is 6'4 senior guard Mason Brandt, who averages 12.9 points per game and is a sniper from deep, leading the team with 23 made threes at a 46.9% clip. Despite starting alongside two 6'7 teammates, Brandt also leads the team in rebounding on both ends of the floor.
Findlay is one of just two teams in the G-MAC with a negative rebound margin. While the Oilers trail only Lake Erie in offensive rebounding, they allow over 38 rebounds per game to opponents, the highest mark in the conference.
Another area where the Oilers trail only the Storm in the G-MAC is turnover margin. Findlay consistently finishes games with fewer turnovers than its opponents. While they are above average at creating havoc defensively, with four players ranking in the top 20 in steals, their biggest strength is limiting mistakes offensively. Despite their high-possession, high-scoring style, they commit the third-fewest turnovers per game in the conference and lead the G-MAC in assist-to-turnover ratio. Junior guard Anthony Johnson plays a key role in that efficiency, posting a G-MAC-best 48 assists to just 15 turnovers.
