After shooting a dismal 26% from the field in a 58-45 loss at Penn St. Altoona, the Lancaster Bible College men's basketball shot the ball much better on Wednesday night against visiting Penn St. Brandywine. The only problem?

The Chargers couldn't stop the Nittany Lions in the second half.

Penn St. Brandywine overcame an 11-point deficit early in the second half and hung on to beat Lancaster Bible, 83-82. The Nittany Lions scored 52 of their 83 points in the second half, led by Mike McGlynn who had 24 of his game-high 32 points during the second frame.

After holding a six-point halftime lead, 37-31, Lancaster Bible [6-15, 4-8 NEAC] opened the second half on a 9-4 run and led 46-35 after a Darrell Epps' fastbreak layup with 16:57 to play. The Nittany Lions however, were just getting warmed up and drained three straight 3-pointers, followed by two straight buckets in the paint to take a 48-46 lead and complete a 13-0 run that took just over three minutes.

"They didn't take a timeout and they battled through as a team," Chargers' Head Coach Pete Beers said of Penn St. Brandywine. "They overcame a slow start to the second half and we didn't stop them."

The teams traded buckets for the next four minutes before Brandywine took a five-point lead at 64-59 with 7:39 to play. LBC would not go away and after a Travis Weyandt jumper and layup by freshman Corey Leonard, Dan Karl put the Chargers ahead by one, 65-64, after connecting on two free throws.

After the Nittany Lions fought back and took a six-point lead, Keith Keltner's layup, followed by a Brett Derr 3-pointer cut the deficit to one, 71-70, with 2:41 to play. Two McGlynn layups and a jumper by Zachary DeVito however, extended the Brandywine lead to seven, 77-70, with 1:41 to play. Once again though, the Chargers would not die and after a three-point play by Weyandt with 53 seconds remaining, LBC trailed 79-75.

Brandywine went cold from the line and a fastbreak layup by Weyandt cut the deficit to two, 79-77, with 33 seconds to play. Vince Mostardi sank both his free throws for the Nittany Lions, but yet another layup by Weyandt trimmed the Brandywine lead to two, 81-79. With 12 seconds to play, Learon Pray's layup attempt was rejected by Epps and the rebound was grabbed by Keith Keltner. He dribbled up the floor and the Chargers found themselves with a chance to tie the game or take the lead.

Keltner found his brother, Kurt, who found himself unguarded just beyond the 3-point line. Keltner's shot just missed and the rebound was grabbed by McGlynn who calmly made both free throws to put Brandywine up by four, 83-79. A Madison Warfel 3-pointer at the buzzer made the score look closer, but it was not enough as LBC lost for the second straight game.

"Tonight the guys showed they cared," Beers said. "We played hard, but give credit to Brandywine. They didn't have their best player and they rallied around one another and got the job done."

Warfel had a team-high 24 points for LBC on 9-of-15 shooting including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. Fellow senior Weyandt had a career-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Keith Keltner had nine points, 11 rebounds and six assists.

"Warfel had a good shooting night and it was nice to see Weyandt step up and play well," Beers said. "I feel good for Travis and his play of late."

For Beers however, it still came down to things that have haunted the Chargers all season long.

"Our defensive rotations, or lack thereof, continue to be the theme of this season," Beers said. "The effort was there tonight, we just aren't always smart."

With four games remaining in the regular season, Beers said he expected the team to continue to fight.

"The games will only get tougher from here on out," Beers said. "Friday's team is better than tonight's team. Hopefully we play better as well."

Friday's opponent is St. Joseph's [Brooklyn] and they will visit Lancaster for a 7 p.m. game.

Notes:
-With the win, Penn St. Brandywine ties the all-time series between the two schools at 3-3.

-LBC outrebounded the Nittany Lions, 49-36 and held a 42-30 advantage in points in the paint.