Box Score You don't have to be able to take Pi to a thousand places to know that this year's Lancaster Bible men's basketball team is special and on the official Pi Day (3.14.15), the Chargers put the icing on the cake to their magical season as they defeated Hillsdale Baptist, 78-65 to earn the program's first-ever NCCAA Division II National Championship. 

The win caps an amazing season that saw the Chargers finish with a 28-3 record, the best finish of any team in the history of Lancaster Bible College athletics. Saturday's win is also the 400th in the men's basketball's 43-year history. Over the past two seasons, the Chargers are 50-12, meaning that 12.5 percent of the program's wins have come in the past two seasons. 

On Saturday, Lancaster Bible controlled play from the opening tip and put together one of the best halves the team has played all season long. Senior Albert Suniga drained a 3-pointer to give Lancaster Bible 12-5 lead just 3:46 into the game. Fellow senior Naheer Mirza hit a bucket a few possessions later to increase the lead to 14-5 and Hillsdale Baptist called timeout.

The Chargers ability to get to the basket not only created easy buckets and offensive chances, but caused the Saints to foul and the Chargers went to the free throw line 11 times in the first half. After struggling from the free throw line two weeks ago during the North Eastern Athletic Conference playoffs, the Chargers put on a free throw shooting clinic on Saturday as they made all 11 of their attempts in the first half and finished the game, 15-of-16 from the charity stripe. 

A 6-0 run by the Chargers midway through the first half increased their lead to 28-11 with 9:36 to play in the opening half and though Hillsdale Baptist used a late run to cut the deficit to 12 at one point, Lancaster Bible recovered and entered halftime with a 45-30 lead. In the first half, the Chargers shot 16-of-26 (61.5 percent) from the floor and outrebounded Hillsdale Baptist, 21-9.

The Saints would not go away quietly and opened the second half on a 16-9 run to cut their deficit to 54-46 with 14:46 to play. Lancaster Bible would not be stopped and showed just why they won 28 games this season and after clamping down on defense, Dondre Perry hit a 3-pointer to give the Chargers a 65-50 lead with 10:19 left. 

Lancaster Bible maintained that lead for several minutes before Hillsdale Baptist reduced it to nine a few more times, but junior Jordan Mellinger was big down the stretch and knocked down two free throws and converted a layup in the final minute to put the game away and give Lancaster Bible its first ever national championship in any sport.

"This is really, really special for our team, our school and the Lancaster Bible community," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Marshall Tague said. "Not only did this team regroup from a tough loss in the NEAC Final, but pulled together to accomplish something very important to us. We finished business that we set out to do a year ago. I'm very proud of this group of men that represent our basketball program, our athletic department, our school and most importantly Jesus in a manner that we can all be proud of."



Junior CJ Dunston, who was named NCCAA Div. II Tournament MVP, finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. In three games at the national tournament, Dunston was 22-of-28 (78.6 percent) from the floor, scored 53 points and grabbed 33 rebounds. 



Senior Albert Suniga, playing his final collegiate basketball game, had 13 points and finishes his career with 1,343 points, the eighth most in program history. 

Junior Dondre Perry added 13 points as well, while senior Naheer Mirza had nine points and seven assists in his final collegiate game. Mellinger capped his impressive campaign with 12 points, while seniors Jon Bird and Corey Leonard each had four points in their final collegiate contest. 

For the game, Lancaster Bible shot 29-of-55 (52.7 percent) from the floor and the aforementioned 15-of-16 from the free throw line. Saturday marked the 15th time this season the Chargers have shot over 50 percent from the floor in a game.

As well as the group played on the court this season, it has been amazing to see how important this group of men has been to the Lancaster Bible community and how they have raised the bar for future generations of athletics at the college. 

"Just a few years ago, a day like today probably wasn't in the minds of most people, but it's a credit to our men's basketball team and our school as a whole, that a day like this can become a reality," Lancaster Bible Director of Athletics Pete Beers said. "This is special."

This year's men's basketball team united the Lancaster Bible community in ways it had never been before, from the Horst Athletic Center being packed for nearly every home game by the Red Sea, to staff, faculty and students watching the NCCAA National Championship games in the library even when it was supposed to be closed, this has been quite a special year.

"We want to thank all of those that supported us this entire season," Tague said. "We are most grateful for all of you."



Notes:
-The previous record for wins in a season was 22 and set by last season's team.

-Three other Lancaster Bible teams have earned 3rd place finishes at the NCCAA National Tournament (2013 men's soccer, 2014 men's basketball and 2015 women's basketball), but this was the first time any Lancaster Bible team had appeared in the NCCAA Div. II Championship Game.

-Dondre Perry will enter next season needing just 177 points to reach 1,000 points for his career. 

-Corey Leonard leaves Lancaster Bible as the all-time leader in wins for a career with 62.