Box Score They split the season series 1-1, it would only be fitting if Lancaster Bible and Morrisville State met one more time this year, perhaps on the first Sunday in March. The Mustangs seemingly couldn't miss on Friday night as they shot 54.8 percent from the floor en route to a 94-86 victory in Morrisville, N.Y.
Morrisville State made nine 3-pointers in the first half and 14 during the game to help get their payback for a 59-57 loss in Lancaster on December 7. Jordan Prior led the way for the Mustangs as he shot 9-of-13 from the floor, including 7-of-11 from beyond the arc for 26 points.
Lancaster Bible sophomore
CJ Dunston scored a career-high 32 points for the Chargers and added seven rebounds. Dunston was 10-of-12 from the floor, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and 10-of-12 from the free throw line. Junior
Naheer Mirza added 16 points, while fellow junior
Albert Suniga had 12 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.
The Chargers trailed by as many as 22 in the second half before rallying to cut the deficit to four at 87-83 with 58 seconds to play. Prior struck again though and hit his seventh and final 3-pointer of the night with 25 seconds to play to give the Mustangs a 90-83 lead. Mirza responded with a 3-pointer seven seconds to cut the deficit to four again, but Morrisville made all four of its free throw attempts down the stretch to ice the game.
"I'm really proud of the guys and how hard they fought," Lancaster Bible Head Coach
Marshall Tague said. "Give Morrisville credit, they came out shooting like crazy. We did a lot of things right, they just hit shots."
Tague said Dunston was great, and complimented Mirza's strong play, but said the Mustangs just hit more shots.
"We shot the ball fairly well (49.2 percent), they just shot better," Tague said. "We could've rebounded better, but overall it was a good game and a fun game. Hopefully we get to see them again."
Dunston's 32 points are a single-game high this season for the Chargers and are the most since Billy Harrison scored 36 points against Penn College on January 24, 2008.Â
Lancaster Bible returns to the floor on Saturday when they face Cazenovia at 1 p.m. The Wildcats have been playing much better of late and are a completely different team than the one the Chargers beat 102-54 on December 6. The Chargers will play their final three regular season home games next week as they take on Gallaudet, Keuka and Wells next Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.