FINDLAY, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's basketball team continued its road conquest on Thursday evening, squaring off with the Oilers from Findlay University. After entering halftime up 50-43 thanks to a dominant 29-8 run in the middle of the first half, Findlay was able to tie the game at 72-apiece with eight minutes of action remaining. However, from there, Caelum Ethridge in particular came up huge down the stretch, scoring 11 points on 4/5 shooting and knocking down clutch free throws to extend the lead and capture the win by a score of 99-94.
With the victory, the Storm knocked off the preseason coaches' pick to win the conference and moved to 11-5 overall and 5-3 in the G-MAC, good for a tie with Ashland for third place.
Game Recap
After trailing 10-8 through the first four minutes of game time, the Storm exploded for 29 points over a seven-minute span, going 7/9 from deep en route to a stunning 37-18 lead over the Oilers. Findlay, however, quickly regrouped, going on its own 7-0 run in the ensuing minutes, and a three-pointer at the halftime horn cut the Lake Erie advantage to just seven, as the Storm led 50-43 at the break.
Shortly after halftime, two consecutive Gavin Welch three-pointers marked four straight makes for the game, pushing the Storm back out to a 13-point lead with just over 14 minutes remaining. Over the next three minutes of action, however, Findlay went on another signature run, scoring the game's next 12 points to seize momentum and trim the deficit to just one. At the eight-minute mark, the score was knotted at 72-apiece, but then Caelum Ethridge and Gio Moore each took over the Storm's offensive duties, putting together individual scoring bursts (five for Ethridge, six for Moore) to restore an 83-74 advantage.
A major storyline down the stretch was Lake Erie holding Findlay scoreless from the 6:57 mark to 2:35, a crucial four-plus-minute stretch where the Storm locked in defensively and forced the Oilers into 0/5 shooting with two turnovers.
Findlay kept things close and turned to fouling in hopes of missed free throws, and despite a rocky night at the line earlier (6/10), the Storm stayed cool, calm, and collected, converting 11/13 free throws in the final 1:21 to walk out with an incredibly gritty five-point victory.
Analysis
The Storm absolutely caught fire from deep in the first half, going 7/9 as a team during that seven-minute stretch. Trace Bishko got the party started and it quickly became contagious, as Amari Williams knocked down two triples, Gavin Welch added two of his own, and Caelum Ethridge and Alanas Castillo each connected once. Outside of that stretch, however, the Storm shot just 7/31 the rest of the night, a 22.6% clip. Findlay, being the talented team they are, was able to weather the early avalanche, but Lake Erie was clutch down the stretch and made enough defensive stops to earn the win.
Lake Erie did a phenomenal job distributing and taking care of the basketball. Not only did the Storm commit their fewest turnovers of the season (seven), but their 24 assists tied for the most in a conference game since joining the G-MAC in 2010-11 (matching games in 2013-14 vs. Northwood and 2020-21 vs. Ohio Valley). Kai Bloom, Trace Bishko, and Aidan Filippini were particularly exceptional, combining for 16 assists with zero turnovers between the three of them.
Despite forcing the Oilers into 14 turnovers (their most against a conference opponent this season), Lake Erie also committed its fewest fouls of the year, with just 17. The Storm were excellent at being calculated with their aggression, providing strong contests without getting whistled.
For the first time all season, a Lake Erie opponent attempted more field goals in a game than the Storm. Prior to this matchup, Lake Erie averaged over 17 more field goal attempts per game than its opponents, an absolutely mind-boggling feat. Between sending teams to the free-throw line at a high rate, their heavy three-point volume, and aggressive offensive rebounding that generates second-chance points, the Storm typically dominate the numbers game. On Thursday, however, they ran into a Findlay team that is just as relentless on the offensive glass. The Oilers pulled down 17 offensive rebounds, the most Lake Erie has allowed since opening night last season. Conversely, Findlay did a great job limiting one of Lake Erie's biggest strengths, as the Storm finished with just 10 offensive boards, tied for their second-fewest of the year.
Looking Ahead
After securing an inspiring win, the Storm remain on the road to battle Northwood on Saturday. The Timberwolves had been rolling before dropping their last two contests to Thomas More and Kentucky Wesleyan, and they will enter the matchup at 10-6 overall and 5-4 in conference play.
Northwood boasts three players ranked in the top eight of the conference in scoring, all of whom have already shown the ability to erupt for 30 points in a game this season. Senior guard Will Young II leads the group at 17.3 points per game (third in the G-MAC), followed closely by senior forward Parker Day at 16.1 ppg (fourth), while junior forward Jamison Eklund ranks eighth at 15.3 ppg.
Day also leads the conference in steals (29) and sits second in the G-MAC with 7.8 rebounds per game, while sophomore guard Brayden Szamrej ranks second in assists at 4.4 per game.
The Timberwolves are the conference's top free-throw shooting team, knocking down 80.3% from the line, and they feature three of the top four most accurate free-throw shooters in the G-MAC.
Like both Findlay and Lake Erie, Northwood is also extremely aggressive on the offensive glass, ranking third in the conference in offensive rebounds per game at over 13 per night.
