It wasn't a win, but it was a step in the right direction and right now for the Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team, that is a good start.

The Chargers held a lead in the second half and were within three with 3:11 to play, but couldn't overcome Lebanon Valley and lost, 76-65. Darrell Epps led LBC with 28 points, a career high, on 11-of-19 shooting, while Benjamin Scott had 10 points and five rebounds.

LBC shot 47.3% (26-of-55) from the field, but turned the ball over 25 times as the Dutchmen set a program record with 19 steals. Despite the turnovers and dry spells, LBC Head Coach Pete Beers was pleased with the effort the Chargers put forth.

"We asked for effort and the team gave us good effort," Beers said. "Now we need to work on consistent effort. We competed tonight, there were just a few lapses that cost us."

LVC's Joe Meehan led all scorers with 30 points. Meehan, who scored 22 points against LBC last season, also added seven steals and seven assists for the Dutchmen.

The Chargers held a 34-27 edge on the boards and pulled down double-digit offense rebounds for the third straight game.

"We hope to build on this game and not relax because we played OK," Beers said. "If we relax, we will regress, but if we build, we can hopefully find out this team's potential."

LBC (0-6 overall, 0-2 NEAC) will play its final game of the first semester on Saturday when they face Albright at 3 p.m. in Reading, Pa.