CANTON, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's basketball team traveled to Malone University on Saturday afternoon, winning by a final score of 73-59. After trading baskets in a low-scoring first half, which saw the Pioneers emerge on top 29-25, the Storm offense woke up and scored 48 points in the second half, the most Malone's conference-best defense has allowed to a team all season. This offensive explosion, along with clutch late defensive possessions that held Malone to just three points in the final 3:44, earned Lake Erie yet another impressive victory.
Winners of their last seven straight, Lake Erie now sits at 19-7 overall and 13-5 against G-MAC opponents.
Game Recap
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, as the teams traded the lead seven times in what was the Storm's lowest-scoring half of the season. It was a battle of the conference's best offense and best defense, and in the opening 20 minutes, Malone's defense answered the challenge. Only once was Lake Erie able to score on consecutive possessions, and buckets in any capacity were hard to come by. Forced to settle for threes due to limited space to operate, the Storm fired 19 triples but connected on just one, a 5.26% mark. On non-threes, Lake Erie wasn't much better, going just 7/19, finishing the half shooting 21.05% overall. However, their saving grace was their own defensive intensity, as they forced the Pioneers into 10 turnovers compared to their three, keeping them afloat while the rim felt like it had a lid on it.
The second half was much kinder to the Storm. After a Caelum Ethridge layup gave his team a 35-34 advantage six minutes into the period, Lake Erie never trailed again. The game would be tied at 45 apiece with nine minutes remaining and only grew to a 58-54 lead with under five minutes to go, but that's when Lake Erie's fresh legs paid off. The Storm were still just 3/26 from deep at that point, but crucially finished 4/4 from beyond the arc in the closing minutes, emphatically expanding their lead to double digits while the Pioneers, on the other hand, finished the game 1/6 from the field, unable to go tit-for-tat with the explosive Storm offense.
Analysis
Similar to their previous game against Thomas More on Thursday, the Storm had an abysmal shooting performance from deep to open the game. Against Thomas More, Lake Erie started 0-13 from beyond the arc and found themselves down double digits, but went 9/20 from that point on and won. Tonight, the Storm started 0/5 before Jake Leibacher hit a three with 15:46 remaining in the first half. Once again, Lake Erie went on a 0/13 shooting stretch before the halftime buzzer and found themselves in a familiar deficit as a result. Thankfully, they picked it up in the second half, going 6/11. Bench big men Ronnie Leonard and Gio Moore played a large part in this, going a combined 3/4.
By being able to allocate minutes across so many players due to the team's depth (again winning the bench points comparison 34-12), the Storm remain fresh, while other teams, like Malone, are forced to lean heavily on their starters. Tonight, the Pioneers had four players log over 30 minutes, and by the end, didn't have much left in the tank to get buckets when it counted, while the Storm poured it on late. This depth is also crucial in surviving "off" nights from contributors. Tonight, key spark plugs off the bench, Trace Bishko, Aidan Filippini, and Gavin Welch combined to go 0/10 from the field, with their four points coming at the free-throw line in a combined 46 minutes. While their jump shots didn't fall on this night, all three have played major roles in key Storm victories this season, making it a major luxury that the team can still find ways to win regardless of how one or two players shoot on a given night.
While the three-ball has been off lately, free throws have been money. Tonight, Lake Erie went 18/20 at the stripe, while Malone went 13/23. Every point is essential, especially in G-MAC play, where games often remain competitive until the final buzzer. Over their seven-game win streak, the Storm are 121/156 at the line, an impressive 76.9% — just under the NBA league average of 78.4% — but good enough to rank third in the conference.
A subtle but huge strength of the Storm lies in their ability to run shooters off the three-point line. Despite playing at one of the fastest paces in the G-MAC, resulting in more possessions than nearly every other team, they allow the third-fewest three-point attempts in the conference. Tonight, Malone went just 2/14 from deep (tying their fewest made in a game all season, also coming against Lake Erie earlier this year), meaning that despite struggling themselves, the Storm still outscored the Pioneers by 15 points from beyond the arc. It doesn't take a math genius to see the value there.
Characteristically a low-turnover team due to their slow pace, the Pioneers were bothered by the Storm defense tonight, coughing up 17 turnovers, tying a season high.
Gio Moore had a game-high 18 points and led the Storm with seven rebounds in his 24 minutes off the bench. This marks back-to-back 18-point performances for the 6'6" junior.
Looking Ahead
With two regular-season games remaining, Lake Erie will hit the road to battle Cedarville on Thursday, February 26, before closing at home versus ODU on Saturday, February 28. Earlier this season, the Storm won a close 90-82 game against the Yellow Jackets but lost 87-69 against the Panthers in Columbus.
After starting the new year 3-3, Cedarville endured a five-game losing streak against some of the conference's top teams before bouncing back with three straight wins prior to their loss today to #19 Walsh.
While they rank third in the conference in field-goal percentage (48.5%), they defend the three-point line the worst in the G-MAC, allowing opponents to shoot 35.7% on high volume. Additionally, they struggle on the glass, ranking third-worst in rebounding margin.
The Yellow Jackets feature three top-11 scorers in the conference: Anthony Ruffolo (4th, 16.4/game), Sam Johnson (9th, 14.9/game), and Jaylen Davis (11th, 14.2/game). In the earlier matchup against the Storm, they combined for 55 of the team's 82 points, with Johnson leading the way with 23 points on 11/16 shooting.
