PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's basketball team played Thomas More on Saturday afternoon in one of its final home games of the regular season, walking away with a tough 91–86 victory. TMU led for the first 11 minutes of action, but the Storm responded and took a six-point advantage into the break. The second half was a rollercoaster from start to finish, featuring six lead changes, but by the end, Lake Erie emerged victorious in a crucial conference battle.
With the win, the Storm improve to 14–7 overall and 8–5 in conference play, taking sole possession of third place in the G-MAC standings
Game Recap
Thomas More came out of the gate with an early nine-point lead, thanks largely to the interior dominance of 6'7, 230-pound forward Jashaun Pouncy and stellar offensive creation from one of the G-MAC's top guards, Kai Simpson. Simpson finished the first half with 15 points and three assists.
While the Storm offense managed just nine points in the opening eight minutes, they finally found a rhythm after a Gavin Welch three-pointer cut the deficit to 16–12 with 11:52 remaining in the half. Two straight Simpson buckets pushed the Saints back up by nine, but five consecutive Storm possessions resulted in scores, with 10 of those points coming from the Castillo twins to give Lake Erie its first lead of the game at 24–22. That run helped the Storm build their own nine-point advantage in the closing minutes of the half, heading into the break up 47–41.
Amari Williams knocked down a three-pointer after halftime to extend the Storm lead to a game-high nine, but for the final 19 minutes the margin never exceeded two possessions. In just a three-minute span, the Saints rushed back to take a 55–54 lead. The advantage flipped back and forth until two Aidan Filippini free throws gave Lake Erie a 69–68 lead with 9:36 remaining, a lead they would somehow never relinquish.
The Storm left the door cracked late, missing four free throws in the final 3:10, but remained efficient enough offensively and defended at a high level to secure the win.
Analysis
The Storm did a great job in the second half of attacking the paint and playing with more force inside, which consistently put Thomas More in foul situations. After attempting just eight free throws in the first half, Lake Erie went to the line 25 times after the break. While the Storm weren't perfect at the stripe — leaving nine points there after closing the Cedarville game 15-for-15 — that constant pressure helped control the tempo and forced the Saints to defend more cautiously down the stretch.
It was a foul-heavy game on both sides. Lake Erie committed 23 fouls, right in line with its season average, but Thomas More also racked up 23, a season high. Foul trouble proved costly late for the Saints, as their best player Kai Simpson fouled out with 1:31 remaining and TMU trailing 84–81. Starter Daniel Allen then fouled out just four possessions later, further limiting Thomas More's ability to close the gap in the final minute.
While Amari Williams led the way with 17 points, five other Storm players also reached double figures in what was a true team effort. Two additional starters hit the double-digit mark in Caelum Ethridge and Rokas Castillo, the latter doing so efficiently on 4-for-5 shooting from the field. Off the bench, sharpshooter Gavin Welch made the most of his 20 minutes, scoring 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting and 3-for-5 from deep. Gio Moore, the Storm's third-leading scorer on the season, added an efficient 15 points in a reserve role, while Aidan Filippini capped the balanced attack by going to the line an incredible 14 times in 20 minutes, converting 12 of them for all of his points.
Entering the night, Lake Erie averaged 35.2 three-point attempts per game, as their offense is built around drive-and-kick action, off-ball screening, and creating volume from deep. Thomas More did a strong job recognizing that identity, holding the Storm to just 21 attempts, their fewest of the season. When Lake Erie did get quality looks, however, they made them count, going an efficient 10-for-21 from beyond the arc.
For the first time all season, an opponent attempted more threes than the Storm, as Thomas More went a respectable 10-for-31. Even so, Lake Erie still owns an astonishing +280 advantage in three-point attempts this season (725–445). That margin is nothing new for the program, as the Storm finished +232 last season, +172 the year before, then +153 and +164 in prior seasons — a clear reflection of a long-standing offensive philosophy rather than a single-game anomaly.
The possession battle was also notable. For only the third time all season, Lake Erie finished with fewer offensive rebounds than its opponent, grabbing just eight, nearly half of their season average entering the game. While that average now sits at exactly 15, the Storm have not reached that mark in their last six contests against several physical, aggressive rebounding teams. On the other end, both teams took care of the basketball. Lake Erie finished with just six turnovers, their lowest total of the season, while Thomas More committed only 10, the second-fewest by a Storm opponent all year.
Give credit to the Lake Erie offense. After scoring 90+ points against a G-MAC opponent only five times over the previous five seasons combined, the Storm have already eclipsed that mark six times in just 13 conference games this season. They lead the conference in scoring at 90.6 points per game. Despite that, Lake Erie ranks last among the G-MAC's 12 teams in field-goal percentage at 43.2%. It may seem contradictory, but the Storm's emphasis on three-point volume, forced turnovers, and extra possessions continues to make that formula work.
Looking Ahead
Next up for the Storm is a daunting road test against #20-ranked Walsh University in North Canton on Thursday, February 5, nearly two months after the Cavaliers escaped Painesville with a thrilling overtime victory. Walsh enters the matchup at 16–2 overall, winners of eight straight games.
After going undefeated in non-conference play, the Cavaliers opened G-MAC action at 3–2 before running the table, sitting comfortably atop the standings at 11–2 following a 71–51 win over Hillsdale earlier today. In that game, Walsh held the Chargers to just 13 points in the entire first half.
Walsh boasts a remarkable +17.2 scoring margin, far and away the best in the conference. If that number holds, it would mark the highest margin in the G-MAC since the 2016–17 Kentucky Wesleyan team that went +20.5 en route to a 28–3 season and a conference tournament title.
While the Cavaliers are one of the conference's better three-point shooting teams, making 8.3 per game (6th) at a 35.6% clip (3rd), they defend the arc at one of the worst rates in the conference, allowing opponents to shoot 35.3%.
Their leading scorer is 6'4 sophomore guard Quintero Barnett, who averages 15.1 points per game (7th in the G-MAC) and leads the conference in steals at 1.7 per contest.
Walsh is also one of the top rebounding teams in the G-MAC (+8.3 margin, 2nd), boasting two players ranked among the top seven in rebounds per game. The Cavaliers dominated the glass in the early December matchup, winning the rebounding battle 48–29, the worst margin for the Storm since the 2015–16 season against Tiffin. Limiting the 16 offensive rebounds Walsh collected in that game will be a major point of emphasis.
Lake Erie will also look for a stronger showing from long range, as the Storm went just 6-for-27 in the earlier overtime loss, their fewest makes and lowest percentage in conference play this season.
