OVERVIEW: The Storm of coach Cliff Hunt posted a 10-16 record last season. Lake Erie is a Division II squad that plays in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (one of the best D-II leagues in the country), and last season the Storm was 5-14 in the GLIAC, good for sixth place. This season Lake Erie was picked to finish sixth in the South Division of the GLIAC.
ALL-TIME SERIES: This is the first meeting between the two schools. BG has a 5-0 record against Division II schools under coach Louis Orr, including a 3-0 record against GLIAC opponents.PLAYERS TO WATCH: Junior Rich Austin returns at power forward after averaging 12.2 ppg and 6.2 rpg last season. The 6-6 Austin will be joined on the frontline by 6-8 junior Garrick Simms, who is returning from an injury that caused him to miss last season. Simms averaged 8.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest and shot with 50% accuracy as a freshman in the 2010-11 season. ... Those two are joined by 6-8 senior Jordan Baker, who averaged 3.6 ppg and 2.0 rpg last season. ... The Storm backcourt returns a trio of juniors that were key contributors last season. The leader is two-year starter Riley Thomas, who averaged 10.3 ppg and 2.6 apg last season and also led the team with 36 three-pointers. ... Nate Tait averaged 8.9 ppg as well as 32 steals in his first season for Lake Erie. ... Tom Parker averaged 4.7 ppg and 2.4 apg. ... Redshirt sophomore Jamil Dudley came off the bench last year to average 7.0 ppg.
BG KEYS TO VICTORY: 1. Take it seriously. It may be easy to look past Lake Erie, knowing that a tough pair of games is coming up and the Falcons have handled GLIAC opposition in the past. That's a recipe and disaster. 2. Make them earn it. Last season Lake Erie didn't shoot well from outside, making just 30.5 percent of its 3-point attempts. Making the Storm shoot contested 3-pointers will probably force their offense to suffer. 3. Efficiency is the key. The Falcons weren't very efficient offensively in the Central State exhibition, which means they had to take a lot of shots to score. Getting -- and making -- more high-percentage shots will help the BG offense improve.
GAME NOTES: Tipoff at the Stroh Center is at 7 p.m. … The contest will be broadcast on the Falcons’ radio network, including 99.1 FM, 1470 AM and 1280 AM. … The next game for the Falcons is their NIT Season Tip-Off contest against Cleveland State on Monday, Nov. 12 at the University of Michigan's Crisler Arena. That game will start at 6 p.m.
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