COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Dominican men's basketball team's second half rally wasn't enough to come from behind to beat the Lake Erie Storm on Senior Day, falling 60-59 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup Saturday afternoon.

The loss will drop the Panthers to 5-20 overall and 3-18 in the GLIAC this season. Lake Erie improves to 10-17 overall and 7-14 in conference play.

ODU was led by sophomore forward Trent Weaver (Columbus, OH), who came off the bench to score 14 points and grab 14 rebounds. Sophomore guard Chad Nelson (Columbus, OH) nearly recorded a triple-double scoring 10 points and recording seven assists and rebounds.

All four seniors for the Panthers recorded at least 10 minutes of play with forward Don Kellum (Chicago, IL) scoring 14 points, shooting 6-8 from the field. Guard Brandon Carr (Westchester, IL) scored 11 points and had three rebounds, while Kevin Domingue (Rockville, MD) added one point and four rebounds.

A pair of free throws for Lake Erie gave them the 60-59 lead with one minute remaining, but after a missed shot by the Panthers, the Storm were unable to capitalize from the foul line, giving ODU a chance with 19 seconds left. The Panthers missed two shots down the stretch, including an attempt at the buzzer as Lake Erie escaped with the win.

Both teams came out running early but it was Lake Erie who took early control of the game taking a 12-6 lead. The Storm continued to be in control for most of the first half and took their largest lead of the first twenty minutes, 29-19 with 4:40 remaining before halftime. 

The Panther however answered with a quick 4-0 capped with a slam dunk from Weaver to pull the Panthers within six, 29-23 with 3:18 to play. In the final minutes however, Lake Erie was able to stretch their lead to 36-25 as the two teams left the court for halftime.

ODU came out of the half strong on both ends of the floor as they used a 21-5 run, highlighted by a dunk from Kellum off a lob pass from Nelson to take a 46-43 lead with 10:25 remaining. The lead was ODU's first since the 16:48 mark in the first half when they led 6-4.

Lake Erie, though, answered the ODU storm with an 8-1 run to regain the lead, 51-47, with 6:38 left to play. Both teams continued to trade baskets and after a layup from Nelson and another from Kellum, the Panthers were in the lead 59-58 with 2:00 remaining.

However, that would be their final advantage as Lake Erie drew the final foul and made both at the line with a minute left.

The Panthers will travel to Tiffin next Thursday, February 27 for their final game of the season. ODU looks to bounce back from the tough loss and win the season series against the Dragons after winning the first matchup 80-68. Tip-off will be at 8:00p.m. in the Gillmor Student Center.