Lake Erie has big first half, tops Oilers

The University of Findlay men's basketball team had a rough start to Thursday's G-MAC game with Lake Erie, and never caught up, falling 80-67. Lake Erie shot extremely well in the first half, making 16 of 29 field goal attempts and shooting better than 61% (11-18) from 3-point range. That barrage helped the Storm put distance between themselves and the Oilers. Lake Erie went up 14-4 on a 3 by Leon Hughes, then pushed the lead to 20-7 when Jacob Plantz connected from deep with 11:05 left in the half. With about seven minutes remaining until the break, Lake Erie's lead reached it's high point – 33-10 – after Jake Liebacher's trey. UF was able to rally, but still trailed 49-31 at the half. The Oilers' Will Aljancic brought the Oilers within 12 – 53-41 – with 14:50 left in regulation, and two free throws by Mason Bruns at the 5:29 mark made it a 10-point game. But the Storm, led by Plantz, who hit four 3s on his way to 23 points, always answered. Liebacher added 15 points and seven boards for Lake Erie, with Jonny Manning registering a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Findlay struggled to shoot the ball much of the night, especially from 3-point range. The Oilers were just 4 of 20 from deep, 1 of 12 after halftime. Bruns ended with 17 points, seven boards. Leipsic graduate Mason Brandt notched a double-double, with 10 points and a team-best 11 rebounds. Cameron Shaw added eight points for the Oilers, and Aljancic scored seven. Findlay slipped to 4-8, 1-3 in conference play. The Oilers will be back Saturday when they host Northwood at 3:30 p.m. The Storm improved to 4-10, 2-3. LAKE ERIE (4-10, 2-3 G-MAC) Plantz 7-5—23; Liebacher 4-4—15; Manning 2-6—10; Hughes 3-1—8; Hornbeak 2-1—6; Piks 3-0—8; Bishko 2-1—5; Williams 2-0—5. TOTALS: 25-58—16-23—80. FINDLAY (4-8, 1-3 G-MAC) Bruns 6-4—17; Brandt 4-2—10; Aljancic 3-1—7; Edmonds 2-1—5; Roth 1-3—5; Shaw 3-0—8; Landers 3-0—6; Luster 2-0—5; Owens 1-0—2; Johnson 1-0—2. TOTALS: 26-71—11-16—67. HALFTIME: Lake Erie 49-31. 3-POINT GOALS: Lake Erie 14-28 (Plantz 4-7; Leibacher 3-6; Piks 2-4; Hughes 2-3; Hornbeak 1-1; Bishko 1-2, Williams 1-1. Findlay 4-20 (Shaw 2-4, Luster 1-2, Bruns 1-3). REBOUNDS: Lake Erie 53 (Manning 13); Findlay 34 (Brandt 11). TURNOVERS: Lake Erie 17; Findlay 10.