Box Score In terms of wins, it may just appear to be a nice regular season victory against a good team, but for the 2012-13 Lancaster Bible men's basketball team, Thursday's win over Valley Forge Christian may last a lifetime. The Chargers and Patriots battled for a full 40 minutes with LBC coming out on top, 70-65 behind Keith Keltner's 17 points and five assists. 

In a game that was tense from the opening tip-off, the Chargers were able to cling to a three-point halftime lead, 28-25 before both teams turned up the pace in the second half. The only thing that slowed down the pace were the 42 combined fouls between the teams. After shooting just nine combined free throws in the first half, the teams shot 46 in the second half and brought the game to a grinding halt.

Though the pace slowed, the game remained close and after the Patriots finally took the lead, 65-64 on a jumper by Kevin Mack, the Chargers called timeout and after telling them to take a deep breath and relax, Chargers' Head Coach Marshall Tague asked someone to make a play.

"All year, we've been looking for someone to make a play in a big moment and tonight, Keith filled that role for us," Tague said.

Out of the timeout, Keltner had a screen set for him at the top of the key and got loose. He caught the ball just beyond the three-point line and it hit nothing by net, giving LBC a 67-65 lead with 53 seconds to play. 



After a timeout, the Patriots looked to tie or take the lead, but a turnover by Lance Harris with 18 seconds to play gave LBC the ball back and after Corey Leonard was fouled, he made one of two free throws to give the Chargers a 68-65 lead. 

Valley Forge Christian (13-11) looked to get someone open beyond the arc, but couldn't do it and turned the ball over again as LBC iced the game with two more free throws by Leonard.



"We won and didn't play that great for some stretches," Tague said. "It's important to be able to do that from time to time because you won't always play your best."

With all of the fouls in the second half, Tague said that while it was hard to find a rhythm, it probably benefitted the Chargers.

"We wanted to make them shoot from outside as much as possible because they are such a good team in transition," Tague said. "With so many whistles, it was hard for them to be so up-tempo and I think it helped that we were able to get them to take some outside shots."

In addition to Keltner's 17 points, Leonard added 14 points, while Jon Bird, CJ Dunston and Dan Karl each added 10 points. And once again, the Chargers (4-18) held the rebounding advantage (33-28), which continues to impress Tague.

"I think our rebounding has been one of the most surprising and best things about our whole season," Tague said. 

The back-to-back wins are the first of the season for LBC and marks the first time since January 2012 that LBC has won two or more games in a row.

"The guys were obviously excited for this game and you could feel it throughout the game and especially after the game," Tague said. "I think it gives them a great reminder that yes, we still have something we are playing for this season."

That would be the NCCAA National Tournament in Missouri in March. With Thursday's victory, the Chargers secure their spot in the NCCAA East Region Final and are one win away from representing the East Region at the National Tournament, despite their up-and-down season.

LBC is scheduled to play on Saturday night at St. Joseph's Brooklyn, but with the impending blizzard headed for the Northeast, the game will most likely be moved to Sunday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.


Notes:
-With the LBC women's basketball team winning as well, Thursday marked the first time since the 2004-05 season that both basketball teams have defeated Valley Forge on the same night. On January 20, 2005 both teams won in Lancaster and both teams did it again that year, this time in Phoenixville, Pa. on February 15, 2005.