PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's basketball team squared off against the Cedarville Yellow Jackets on Thursday evening, earning a hard-fought 90-82 victory in an overall wild, momentum-swinging game. The first half was a defensive grind from the start, as the Storm went nearly eight minutes during one stretch without a single point. Even so, Cedarville had similar scoring struggles, and the Storm carried a 29-25 lead into halftime. The second half turned into a complete offensive explosion, with both sides combining for 118 points — the most in a Storm game all season. It wasn't pretty down the stretch, as what was once a 25-point Lake Erie lead shrank to just four with 37 seconds remaining. However, perfect 15/15 free throw shooting in the second half, including 12/12 over the final 3:21, helped secure the win.
Lake Erie moves to 13-7 overall and 7-5 against G-MAC competition, putting them in a three-way tie for third place in the conference standings.
Game Recap
The first half was a defensive battle from the opening tip. After five minutes of play, the Storm were stuck at just four points, but a Caelum Ethridge three helped get the offense on track and gave Lake Erie a 15-8 lead at the 13:44 mark. Unfortunately, the home team stayed at that total until the six-minute mark, going nearly eight full minutes without a point. During that stretch, Cedarville flipped the game into a 19-15 lead.
Both teams grinded their way to halftime without finding much rhythm offensively, as the Storm reclaimed a 29-25 lead by the break.
The second half couldn't have been more different. After the G-MAC's top scoring offense managed just 29 points in the first 20 minutes, Lake Erie came out of halftime on fire, putting up 33 points in just 7:24 to build a commanding 62-37 lead. With 8:15 remaining, the Storm still led by 22 and looked fully in control, appearing to have solved Cedarville thanks to Coach Conley's halftime adjustments.
But the momentum swung again. Lake Erie hit another scoring drought of 3:17, while the Yellow Jackets showed why they're one of the most potent offenses in the conference. They scored on 22 of their final 30 possessions, limiting turnovers, getting to the free throw line at a high rate, and collecting key offensive rebounds to fuel the comeback.
What was a 78-65 Storm lead with 3:21 left quickly became 80-75 with 1:33 remaining. From there, Lake Erie remained perfect at the free throw line as Cedarville was forced to foul to extend the game and steal extra possessions. To their credit, the Yellow Jackets made the most of those chances, as Anthony Ruffolo — fourth in G-MAC scoring — poured in 18 second-half points to keep them alive as long as possible. Ultimately, it was too little too late, as Lake Erie closed out a vital conference win.
Analysis
In a half where nobody generated easy looks, it would have helped Cedarville to at least capitalize at the free throw line. That wasn't the case early, as they went just 2/10 at the stripe in the first half. They improved significantly after halftime at 16/19, but Lake Erie was nearly automatic, going 15/15 in the second half and finishing 23/26 overall. That tied their season high in free throws made and nearly set a season best in efficiency.
The scoring split is also eye-popping. Jumping from 29 points in the first half to 61 in the second is practically unheard of. Only one other time this season has Lake Erie been held under 30 in a half — and to follow it with 61 marks their highest-scoring half against a conference opponent since joining the G-MAC in 2010-11. For added context, Tiffin averages just 61.5 points per entire game this season, so to practically meet this mark in just one half against a strong G-MAC opponent is absurd.
Amari Williams and Caelum Ethridge led the way offensively with 16 points each and combined for seven steals on the defensive end, while Alanas Castillo continued to make the most of his minutes, adding 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from deep. In a game where the Storm hit just nine threes total, Castillo was the only player with multiple makes from beyond the arc, and his shooting played a key role in helping build the big second-half lead.
Looking Ahead
The Storm have another home game Saturday afternoon against Thomas More before closing the season with just two more home games across their final seven. The Saints are the last conference opponent Lake Erie has yet to face this season.
Thomas More is 4-8 in conference play, but four of those losses have come by single digits, two of which went to overtime. And that doesn't even factor in a four-point loss today against #20 Walsh on the road in Canton. A couple of plays going differently and their season trajectory could look very different. Despite ranking 11th out of 12 teams in conference record, they sit at 10-9 overall thanks to a 6-1 non-conference mark.
The Saints are led by 6'3 redshirt sophomore Kai Simpson, who averages 18.3 ppg (second in the G-MAC) and 4.2 assists (fourth).
Thomas More also features three high-level shooters in Daniel Allen, Carson Browne, and Ryan Paris. Allen ranks fifth in the conference in made threes while shooting 40.8%. Browne and Paris have made 29 and 26 threes respectively, each above 44%. Together, that trio accounts for 62% of the team's total made threes.
The Saints are also a strong collective rebounding group. While no individual ranks in the top 14, all starters grab over four per game, contributing to a conference-best +8.5 rebounding margin.
Their turnover profile is unusual. They commit the second-fewest turnovers per game at 10.7, but they force only 7.4 from opponents — easily the lowest mark in the conference — resulting in a G-MAC worst -3.37 turnover margin.
