Box Score They've been making history all season long, why stop now?

The Lancaster Bible men's basketball team won an NCCAA Division II National Tournament First Round game for the first time in program history on Thursday as they defeated Grace University (Neb.), 79-65. The victory sends the Chargers into the NCCAA National Semifinals where they will take on second-seeded Arlington Baptist who defeated North Central (Minn.).

On Thursday, the Chargers (21-8) jumped out to a big first half lead as they led by as many as 20 and took a 43-26 lead into halftime. Lancaster Bible shot 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.

The lead remained in double digits for the first 10 minutes of the second half, but Grace made a run midway through the half and cut the deficit to eight at one point.

"We talked at halftime about the fact we made some tough shots in the first half and that Grace was going to try and make a run in the second half," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Marshall Tague said. "Grace did get a little more aggressive offensively in the second half, but we stuck with it and didn't panic."

Sophomore CJ Dunston had a team-high 16 points to lead five Lancaster Bible players in double figures. Junior Naheer Mirza added 14 points and seven assists, while fellow junior Corey Leonard had 12 points. Dondre Perry added 11 points and five boards, while Dave Long was 5-of-6 from the floor for 10 points. Trevor Marsh just missed double digits as he had nine points.

"Our depth continues to pay off," Tague said. "Five guys in double figures and one at nine points - two of those guys come off the bench and the others guys off the bench are our great defensive guys. I thought Corey was really good in the first half and Trevor was good in the second, while CJ was just un-guardable at times."

The win is just the second all-time victory for the Chargers at the National Tournament. Lancaster Bible defeated Portland Bible during the 2011 tournament. Tague hopes with the first win out of the way that the Chargers can relax even more.

"It's good to get the first win and now hopefully we can let the nerves out, relax and get ready to go on Friday," Tague said.

Lancaster Bible and Arlington Baptist are scheduled to tip-off on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Let the history continue.