Zach Filzen was named the 12th head coach in program history in June of 2015 and helped guide the Chargers to their most successful season in school history.
The Chargers went 27-1 during the 2015-16 season and earned the program's first-ever NEAC Championship as Lancaster Bible defeated Morrisville State, 97-71 in the NEAC Final on February 28, 2016. Lancaster Bible faced Wooster in the NCAA Division III First Round less than a week later and lost to perennial powerhouse Scots, 96-83 in Washington, D.C.
For the team's success, Filzen was named NEAC Coach of the Year and also D3hoops.com East Region Coach of the Year. The Chargers were second in NCAA Division III in winning percentage (.964) and scoring margin (+22.2) and finished third in assists per game with 18.8.
Filzen coached NEAC Player of the Year CJ Dunston during the 2015-16 season and also had three other NEAC All-Conference players, including First Team selection Bryce Williams, Second Team choice Kurt Keltner and Third Team selection Dondre Perry. Dunston and Williams were also D3hoops.com East Region Second team selections.
Lancaster Bible struggled at times during the 2016-17 season, but Filzen and the Chargers clicked at the right time and made a surprise run to the NEAC Final, where they lost to Morrisville State, 70-63. Filzen had two more NEAC All-Conference members, as Herbie Brown was named to the First Team and Brett Cataudella earned Third Team
honors.
As a student-athlete, Filzen played one season at NCAA Division I Northern Arizona during the 2007-08 season before transferring to Buffalo where he enjoyed three years of success with the Bulls. He still holds the program-record for most 3-pointers made in a season with 110 during the 2010-11 campaign and followed that up the next season with the second-most 3-pointers made in program history with 97. His 222 career 3-pointers are the second-most in the program's 99-year history.
Zach and his wife, Megan, and their daughter, Selah reside in Lancaster, Pa.
The Filzen File
Overall Record: 41-15 (.732)
First Lancaster Bible Game: Nov. 17, 2015 vs. Elizabethtown
First Lancaster Bible Win: Nov. 17, 2015 vs. Elizabethtown (W, 90-77)
2015-16: 27-1, 18-0 NEAC: NEAC Champions...NCAA Division III National Tournament Participant
2016-17: 14-14, 11-8 NEAC: NEAC Finalist
