NORTH CANTON, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's basketball team played in the G-MAC Championship game on Saturday afternoon, falling 86-73 to the No. 1-seeded and No. 14 nationally ranked Walsh Cavaliers. The first half was a game of runs, with the Cavaliers taking a 42-35 lead into halftime. Despite their unrelenting effort, Lake Erie was unable to mount a comeback against the home team's offense, as defensive stops were incredibly hard to come by.

In their first G-MAC Championship appearance in school history, the Storm had a strong showing, but their nationally ranked opponent simply had it going. The fate of Lake Erie's season now rests in the hands of the NCAA selection committee, which will announce the tournament field on Sunday, March 8 at 11 p.m. EST.

Game Recap

In the opening eight minutes, it was the Storm who held a small lead, as they went up 6-0 out of the gate and essentially traded baskets from there. However, from 11:31 to 7:18, a 21-19 Storm advantage became a 34-23 Cavs lead, a pivotal stretch in the game. A quick 8-0 LEC run right back at them cut the deficit to just three points, but late-half execution from the Cavaliers helped them take a 42-35 lead into the break.

The margin stayed relatively similar out of halftime, as a Ronnie Leonard bucket with 15:23 remaining cut the deficit to 48-43. However, another Cavaliers 8-0 run pushed their lead to 13, creating a make-or-break point in the game. Then Amari Williams stepped up, scoring eight straight Storm points with back-to-back threes and a layup. Even with his heroics, however, Lake Erie was unable to substantially trim the deficit, as it seemed the only way the Walsh offense would be stifled was through poor shot selection or turnovers. When the Cavaliers got into their bread and butter, they were extremely difficult to stop, dominating in the interior and finishing around and through contact.

That's when Caelum Ethridge stepped up yet again in these conference playoffs, cutting the Cavaliers' lead down to just 62-57 thanks to a steal, trip to the free throw line, and three-pointer in sequence.

This unfortunately proved to be the closest Lake Erie could get, as Walsh simply converted enough shots to put the championship to bed. The Cavaliers extended their lead to a game-high 15 in the final minutes and ultimately captured their fifth conference championship in the last eight seasons.

Analysis

Perhaps the most important facet of the game tonight was the lack of effect the Storm's relentless pressure had on the Cavaliers. While this resulted in a Storm-low foul performance (only 13, compared to their season-high 31 against Ashland the night before), Walsh turned the ball over just seven times, the fewest a Lake Erie opponent has committed all season. Over the past eight games, opponents had averaged more than 18 turnovers per night. These added possessions and opportunities to run in transition are the key catalysts behind the Storm's offensive success. Three steals marked their lowest total of the season, and nine fast-break points was not enough against as talented of a half-court offense as Walsh possesses.

In the same light, offensive rebounds were also largely neutralized once again against Walsh. The Storm finish the season as the conference leader in this category with 14.2 per game (if it holds, the most in the G-MAC since the 2019-20 Walsh team), yet in the three matchups against the Cavaliers they were largely negated from this component of their success. Only three times this year have the Storm recorded fewer than double-digit offensive rebounds in a game, and all three came against Walsh.

It was honestly a pretty solid offensive performance for the Storm. Walsh's defense is one of the best units in the conference and held G-MAC opponents under 60 points eight different times this season, including just 49 against Hillsdale in the G-MAC Quarterfinals. What hurt Lake Erie, however, was the limited number of possessions they are used to seeing. The Storm averaged roughly 72 shot attempts per game this season, but on Saturday took just 55, their second-fewest of the entire year. Despite leading the conference in scoring at 88.2 points per game, Lake Erie also finished the season last in team field goal percentage at 43.3%, meaning they rely heavily on extra possessions through offensive rebounds and turnovers to fuel their offense. Losing the offensive rebounding battle and turnover margin ultimately killed their hopes of winning, as they are not as effective in the half-court as many other teams, especially against this opponent. 

Lake Erie simply had no answers for the size, athleticism, and physicality of the Cavaliers, particularly their big men. While Walsh's leading scorer finished with only 13 points in what was a well-rounded offensive effort, forwards Brayden Gross and Zack Oddo combined for 25 points, 17 rebounds, three assists, and four steals on an impressive 12-for-19 shooting performance. It wasn't just them, however, as the team as a whole scored 58 of its 86 points in the paint, the most the Storm have allowed in that area all season. The only game remotely close was Mansfield's 52 points in the paint against Lake Erie back in November. Credit to the Cavaliers, they made a lot of difficult finishes at the rim, but this was an area Lake Erie struggled with throughout the season, and it ultimately came back to haunt them.

Walsh is an excellent three-point shooting team (36.0%), the third-best mark in the conference. In the first half tonight they went just 1-for-9 (11%), and Lake Erie needed to capitalize when that element of the Cavaliers' offense was missing. In the second half, however, Walsh went 4-for-8 from deep, and the Storm stood little chance when their offense added that dimension to an already dominant interior attack.

Freshman Brayden Gross was dominant once again against the Storm. The 6-foot-7 forward went 8-for-9 from the field the last time these teams met, scoring 23 points, and while he finished with only 13 tonight, he did so on an efficient 6-for-7 shooting performance. He will certainly be a player to monitor in the conference for the foreseeable future.

Amari Williams scored 20 points tonight, nearly doubling the next-leading scorer for the Storm. The recently selected First Team All-Conference junior has dealt with scoring variance throughout the season, but in the two biggest games of the year he delivered, posting 20 points in both matchups.

Looking Ahead

Saturday's loss makes Lake Erie's postseason picture a lot murkier, as their fate now rests in the hands of the NCAA selection committee. While a bubble team, the Storm should still feel they deserve one of the final seeds based on their full body of work. Winners of 11 straight before their loss in the conference championship against a top-15 Walsh squad, Lake Erie has been playing its best basketball at the right time and has consistently shown the ability to compete in every game and find ways to win close ones.

The Storm were ranked sixth in the most recent Midwest Regional rankings, with the top eight teams advancing to the NCAA Tournament. The regional will be hosted by the highest remaining seed, with the winner advancing to the Elite Eight later this month in Pittsburgh.

Lake Erie's chances will also be impacted by results across the Midwest region, particularly in conferences such as the GLIAC and GLVC, whose tournaments are also wrapping up this weekend.

Selection Sunday will take place March 8 at 11 p.m. EST.