March 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nConley\u2019s system has worked while creating a roster full of players that extends to Down Under with Notre Dame College transfer Kai Bloom of Australia, one of the team\u2019s top scorers.<\/p>\n
The results to this point are a 23-8 record, runner-up finishes in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference\u2019s regular season and postseason tournament and an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II men\u2019s tournament.<\/p>\n
![\"Lake](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/TNH-L-LECHoops-0313-01_a14588.jpg\")
Lake Erie College’s Trace Bishko of Brush and the rest of the Storm players get a send-off March 12 at LEC’s Athletic Center before heading to Canton for the Midwest Regional beginning on March 14. (News-Herald Staff)<\/p>\n
The No. 6 seed Storm will compete in the eight-team Midwest Regional at host school Walsh University in North Canton. Their first game is March 14 at noon against No. 3 seed Michigan Tech.<\/p>\n
LEC is led by Amari Williams, a 6-foot-3 point guard from Fort Worth, Texas, who leads the team in scoring at 14.5 points. There is also Jake Leibacher \u2014 one of the few seniors on the roster \u2014 from Castalia Margaretta, who leads the team in rebounds, and Bloom, one of three former players at Notre Dame College who arrived across town when NDC closed two years ago.<\/p>\n
Bloom is one of two international players on the roster. The other is Civan Catak, a junior from Turkey. The roster also consists of players from California, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois, Virginia and Florida. Of course, Ohio is represented well with 11 from the Buckeye State. That includes the likes of Trace Bishko and Damari Dammons of Brush, grad student Jacob Segulin of Riverside and Walter Cable of Wickliffe.<\/p>\n
All have a common goal \u2014 practice and play with a purpose, that being fast and up-tempo at just about every position.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like any guy on this roster can play any position,\u201d said Williams. \u201cIt\u2019s really position-less from the 1 to the 5. Everybody plays free at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conley\u2019s rotation includes 12 to 13 players in most games because he and his staff ask his players to play so hard and at a frenzied pace.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re not playing as hard as you can, (the system) doesn\u2019t work,\u201d said Leibacher.<\/p>\n
Said Conley: \u201cPlaying the way we do makes me play more guys. I think it\u2019s created a more connected group in practice every day. Guys come to practice knowing they\u2019re probably going to get a chance to play. It keeps guys engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n
At around the 20-game mark of this season, the Storm were 12-7, and Conley told his players if they were intent on making a run in the conference, it was go-time. From there, they made it count with 11 straight victories that pushed them into the GMAC tournament championship game, where they lost to top seed Walsh.<\/p>\n
That winning streak not only made them a top-notch at-large candidate. It also provided the program and players with a boost of confidence they\u2019ve been carrying for about two months.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always knew our potential. We could see it,\u201d said Bloom. \u201cIt was about everybody buying into the same goal. We found something that worked in the second half. It\u2019s about everyone looking out for each other and playing for the same collective.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now the goal is making a run in the NCAA D-II tourney. The winner of the eight-team Midwest Regional advances to the elite eight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know how good we can be,\u201d said Bloom. \u201cThis region is wide open for anyone to get and why can\u2019t it be us? I think we can make a run at this thing. I think we\u2019re capable of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lake Erie vs. Michigan Tech<\/p>\n
What: First-round NCAA D-II men\u2019s tournament game<\/p>\n
When: Noon, March 14<\/p>\n
Where: Alumni Arena, Walsh University<\/p>\n
Records: Lake Erie 23-8, Michigan Tech 26-6<\/p>\n
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