The woes continued Thursday night for the Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team, this time at the hands of 13th ranked Franklin & Marshall College. The Diplomats shot 51 percent in the first half and exploded to a 59-25 halftime lead and never looked back, handing the Chargers their worst defeat in almost seven years, winning 109-51.

Mike Baker led the Dips with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Steve Tolliver had 18 points, while James McNally had 15 points and four boards.

Madison Warfel led the Chargers with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Andrew Risser chipped in with nine points, while Erich Graybill and Jason Swartzentruber each had five points.

"It was ugly tonight," Chargers' Head Coach Pete Beers said. "We have to improve all the parts of our game. That being said, the game is a classroom and a teacher to all and tonight I think we all learned a few things."

Beers said looking at the team's schedule prior to the season he knew it was ambitious, but that now, it is difficult at times to stay positive during the game.

"We all knew the schedule was tough, but the lessons we are learning are hard on everyone," Beers said. "This is the best team we have played all year and if we want to be competitive in NCAA Division III, this is one of the teams we will have to compete with."

The Chargers (4-9) will have little time to recover as they host NCCAA East Region rival Baptist Bible College on Saturday. Beers said the game will be a challenge, but that is the beauty of the game.

"It's up to us as to how we step up on Saturday," Beers said. "That's the great thing about the season and about basketball, we get a new chance on Saturday to fix things and improve. If we do those things, the outcome will be positive."

Though the two schools are just five miles apart, this was the first-ever meeting between F & M and LBC. Dips' Head Coach Glenn Robinson said he hopes the two schools can continue to square off in the future.

"It makes sense to play LBC," Robinson said. "Hopefully we can keep them on the schedule and it would be great for the fans and students if we could play when class is in session. I think it could be a great fan experience to watch two local teams compete."

Game time for Saturday's clash with BBC is set for 3:00 p.m.

Notes:
-The 58-point loss is the worst since LBC lost to Rowan 103-44 on February 2, 2004.

-The last time LBC gave up 100 points was January 10, 2008 when they lost to Mount Aloysius, 103-91.

-The 109 points was the most given up by the Chargers since November 30, 2006 when they lost to Mount Aloysius, 116-107.