Lake Erie had payback in mind when Tiffin paid a visit to Painesville for a G-MAC contest on Jan. 23. The Storm lost to the Dragons on Jan. 11 at Tiffin, 78-70. It took everything Lake Erie had to hold on to a lead it earned at halftime in the rematch, but the Storm did it, thanks to stellar shooting from the free throw line, and turned the tables on Tiffin, 78-70. PHOTOS: Lake Erie vs. Tiffin men’s basketball, Jan. 23, 2025 Lake Erie improved to 13-5 overall, and 6-4 in the G-MAC. Tiffin dropped to 4-13 overall and 2-7 in the conference. The Storm knocked down 20 of 22 free-throw attempts, including a perfect 14-for-14 in the second half, 12-for-12 in the last 2:30 of the game. Four players finished in double figures for Lake Erie, led by Cameron Johnson with 16. Jake Leibacher added 15, and Derrick Anderson and Caleb Piks (Mentor) had 12 apiece. “I think it was just guarding our yard,” Leibacher, who also had seven rebounds and four steals, said. “Just guarding our man individually, because they’re a strong downhill team.” @lakeeriembk Jake Leibacher (15 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals) goes over the Storm’s 78-70 win over visiting Tiffin pic.twitter.com/kdLoZllycS — Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) January 24, 2025 The Storm and Dragons traded runs throughout the first half, also nearly matching each other rebound for rebound, as the seemingly mirror-image teams played with the same tempo and energy. But Lake Erie ended the first half on an 11-2 run to take a 37-30 halftime lead. Leibacher tallied three straight buckets, one off a steal, to give the Storm a 32-28 lead, and Kai Bloom beat the halftime buzzer with a putback of a teammate’s miss to to extend the lead to seven. But the Dragons weren’t about to be vanquished easily, and caught the Storm at 48-48 midway through the second half, thanks to the efforts of Allen Fordham, who scored all 16 of his points after halftime, and Jonah Nesmith, who chipped in 11 of his 17 points after the break. “I have to give Tiffin a ton of credit,” Lake Erie coach Kyle Conley said. “Their record isn’t indicative of how good I think they are. They’re talented and athletic, and they’re hard for us to get pace and press (against). They attack it really well, and we had to play more quarter-court basketball in the second half than we’ve done all year.” @lakeeriembk Coach Kyle Conley reviews Lake Erie’s 78-70 win over Tiffin (Part 1) pic.twitter.com/vUA6ialmHD — Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) January 24, 2025 Lake Erie responded to the Tiffin surge with buckets by Leibacher and Piks to go back up by four, but a triple later on by Fordham pulled Tiffin within 61-59, and a free throw by Dekyre Fuller sliced the deficit to one. Derrick Anderson, who had a huge game in Lake Erie’s upset of Hillsdale earlier in the week, buried a 3 off an assist by Johnson to make it 64-60, then a technical called on Tiffin with 2:30 left was the beginning of the end for the Dragons. Anderson converted four straight at the foul line, and Lake Erie scored the rest of its points, other than a wide-open uncontested dunk by Piks, from the free-throw line the rest of the game. “Our guys dug in and found a way,” Conley said. “It was a much-needed win for us to keep us in the middle of the G-Mac race. I’m glad we were able to pull it out.” @lakeeriembk Coach Kyle Conley talks about the Storm’s 78-70 win over Tiffin, and the successful season so far (Part 2) pic.twitter.com/chM2ozT8pY — Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) January 24, 2025 Lake Erie won the rebounding battle, 33-28, led by Johnson and Leibacher with seven each. The Storm has won three straight games since the loss to Tiffin on Jan. 11, and will travel to Ashland on Jan. 25. “I think our guys have just bought into our system and our style,” Conley said. “Our coaches have done a great job of getting these kids prepared every day. The guys care about each other, and they’re enjoying playing together. “I think that’s a big thing for this group, that they’re fighting like crazy for each other. That’s allowed us to put together a pretty good start through 18 games. Our league is so good and so balanced right now, and we have heck of a challenge on Saturday in Ashland.” The score Lake Erie 78, Tiffin 70