The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team knew Wednesday's game against Portland Bible College would be their last of the season, but there was still unfinished business that needed to be taken care of.

The men's basketball program was still winless at the NCCAA National Tournament and the team desperately wanted to end their Nationals losing streak at five.

Mission accomplished.

Using a 2-2-1 press and a 2-3 zone to limit the Wildcats' offense, the Chargers held Portland Bible to just 13 first half points en route to a 65-48 win. With the victory, LBC finishes the season with a 14-15 record, the most wins in a season since the 2006-07 season when they won 15.

"They struggled with our press and missed a lot of their shots in the first half," Chargers' Head Coach Pete Beers said. "They turned the ball over and we were able to take advantage of that with open looks of our own."

Beers was pleased with the Chargers on the offensive end.

"We established ourselves inside early on," Beers said. "I think we settled for too many outside shots yesterday against Kentucky Christian, so it was nice to work the ball inside today."

When the ball didn't go inside, LBC's Madison Wafel was there to knock down outside shots to give the Chargers a 28-13 halftime lead. Warfel finished with a game-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

Senior Kevin Keltner, playing in his final collegiate game, had 13 points, six assists and five rebounds. Fellow senior, Eric Nulf did not score, but had four rebounds and a big block in the second half in his final game.

"I feel good for them," Beers said of the seniors. "They go out with a regional championship and a win at nationals. I am very interested to see what God has in store for them in the future and it is nice to see people that you love and care about do well."

Both Nulf and Keltner were pleased with their careers at LBC.

"The win over Valley Forge Christian made all of the bad things over the four years better," Nulf said. "It made this year memorable and gave us something to show for our hard work."

Keltner agreed that this season was the best of the four for he and Nulf.

"I think it got better every season, but this year especially it was fun," Keltner said. "The team chemistry was great and I think Coach Beers and I finally figured each other out, so that helped."

Keltner, who finishes with 1,320 points for his career, 10th all-time at LBC, said he wouldn't change a thing about his experience at LBC.

"There are some things I wish I would have figured out sooner, but overall, I am very happy with my career at LBC."

Nulf, who finishes with 718 points and 467 rebounds, said he would have gotten to 1,000 points if he would have played as many games at LBC Assistant Coach Zack Long who holds the record for games played at LBC with 120.

With the season concluded, Beers said he was happy as well with how the season turned out.

"Anytime you accomplish something for the first time (a win at nationals), it is special," Beers said. "We are thankful we have an institution and administration that supports us and lets us go on these trips. Getting a win is something we need to embrace and be proud of."

For now, the Chargers will enjoy the win and spend time with each other one more day in Springfield, before heading home. They will hang the East Region Champions banner in Horst Athletic Center and will always have the memory of defeating the Patriots at The Pit.

Beers and the returning players understand however, that the off-season begins now and the work they put in from now until October will determine what kind of 2011-12 season they have.

"It was great that everyone got to play today and was part of the win, but from now until October will determine a lot of things," Beers said. "We need to realize we didn't come here to play in the Losers' Bracket and we don't want to play on Wednesday, but Thursday, Friday and Saturday."

Notes:
-Keltner finished three points behind Billy Harrison (2005-09) for 9th all-time at LBC in points scored.

-The 48 points was the lowest output for an LBC opponent since the 2007-08 season when they held Washington Bible to 42 points.

-The Chargers shot 52 percent from the floor on Wednesday, it was the 7th time this season LBC shot 50 percent or better.