In a game with 15 lead changes and 12 ties, and in which neither Lake Erie College nor visiting Ohio Dominican led by more than six points, it was fitting that their regular-season-ending G-MAC matchup came down to the final two plays on Feb.28.

Down by one after Ohio Dominican’s Derek Goodman sank a turnaround jumper in the paint to give the Panthers an 86-85 lead with 21 seconds left, Lake Erie’s Jake Leibacher took a pass in the paint from Amari Williams, faked out a defender that had closed on him, and leaned to his right, finding enough room to put in a layup off the glass and give the Storm an 87-86 lead with nine seconds to go.

A foul on Ohio Dominican put Leibacher at the free-throw line with 4.5 seconds left, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one. Ohio Dominican called two timeouts and set up a play for Terrence Broughton to use his speed to get down court and score on a layup to win it, but two Storm defenders forced him outside to take a jumper at the baseline, which went off the rim, giving Lake Erie an 87-86 win.

The senior day victory was the Storm’s ninth consecutive to end the regular season, and snapped a six-game winning streak for Ohio Dominican. Lake Erie clinched the No.2 seed in the G-MAC tournament, which will start next week.

“It was actually supposed to be for our leading scorer, point guard Amari (Williams),” Leibacher said of the game-winning play. “He kind of got cut off, so I flashed, and he hit me with a pass, and I just finished it.”

@lakeeriembk Jake Leibacher, who scored 13 points including the game-winning layup, goes over Lake Erie’s 87-86 win over Ohio Dominican pic.twitter.com/ovaXMvqZuA

— Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) February 28, 2026

Kai Bloom, who hails from Australia and transferred from Notre Dame College when that school closed two years ago, led Lake Erie with 20 points and five rebounds.

“It means everything,” Bloom said of the win over ODU, who beat Lake Erie, 87-69, on Jan. 10 in Columbus. “We’re a great team, we’re a family. To go out there and play hard for each other, have each other’s backs and work hard for the seniors, it’s a great win.”

@lakeeriembk Kai Bloom, who scored a team-high 20 points, reviews the Storm’s 87-86 win over Ohio Dominican pic.twitter.com/Ixp6osN2Kr

— Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) February 28, 2026

Lake Erie’s early 10-3 run gave the Storm a 12-6 lead, which would be the biggest in the contest for either team. Ohio Dominican caught the Storm at 14-14 on an Elijah Hinton bucket.

Lake Erie pulled back ahead by five, 21-16, on Bloom’s and-one bucket, but the lead swung back and forth with mini-runs until Leibacher’s 3 tied the game, 50-50, at halftime.

Up to that point, Lake Erie had its most success on points off of turnovers or in the paint, while Ohio Dominican made 61 percent of its shots while limiting Lake Erie to 47 percent.

The second half featured nine more lead changes, but Lake Erie pulled ahead by five points twice, including 85-80 with 2:02 left after Gio Moore scored on an assist from Leibacher and then drained a triple.

Ohio Dominican (19-9, 13-7 G-MAC) made it tight late on three consecutive baskets around missed attempts by the Storm, to go ahead 86-85 in the final minute before Lake Erie’s last play heroics at both ends of the floor.

“I have a ton of respect for (Ohio Dominican Coach Casey) Kaufman and his Ohio Dominican team,” Lake Erie coach Kyle Conley said. “I think they’re one of the best teams in our league, as are we.

“I just felt like it was such a high level Division II game out there today. We made enough plays at the end to find a way, offensively to make a bucket late, and then to get a big stop at the end.”

@lakeeriembk Coach Kyle Conley breaks down Lake Erie’s 87-86 regular season ending win over Ohio Dominican, and looks ahead to the G-MAC Tournament and possible NCAA Division II Tournament bid pic.twitter.com/LvK15MF7MH

— Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) February 28, 2026

Trace Bishko (Brush) was one of the seniors honored during a pregame ceremony. Bishko finished with nine points, all on 3s that seemed to come at critical moments, including one that gave the Storm a 76-73 lead with six minutes left.

“It was a team effort,” Bishko said. “We knew ODU is a really good team, top four in our conference for a reason. The last time we played them, they got after us. We knew it was going to be a dogfight, and every possession was going to matter, so we just had to stay together and stay connected.”

@lakeeriembk senior Trace Bishko (@BrushAthletics grad) who made 3 key 3-point shots, talks about the 87-86 Senior Day win over Ohio Dominican and his four years at Lake Erie College pic.twitter.com/8xraxo94Bq

— Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) February 28, 2026

Lake Erie finishes the regular season at 21-7 overall, and 15-5 in the G-MAC, good for second place behind league champion Walsh (24-3, 17-3 G-MAC).

The Storm is ranked No. 6 in the Division II NCAA Midwest Region rankings. Lake Erie may still get into the NCAA D-II tournament as an at-large team, but Conley would much rather win the G-MAC tournament and get an automatic bid.

“I think anybody of the eight can win it,” Conley said of the G-MAC tournament, in which the top eight teams out of 12 qualify. “We had the seven seed win it last year. Our league is so good right now, it’s one of best two or three Division II leagues in the country. I expect a dogfight every game, there will be no easy games for anybody, including us.

“I think we have a solid chance (for an at-large bid). Obviously you’d like to win some games in the tournament, and more importantly win the tournament, then you don’t have to worry at all.”