The 2017-18 Lancaster Bible College men's basketball season begins on Wednesday night in Grantham, Pa., as the Chargers battle Messiah at 8 p.m. The Chargers are coming off a 2016-17 campaign that saw them go 14-14, but Lancaster Bible made a surprise run to the North Eastern Athletic Conference Final and fell just short of advancing to the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the second straight season.
 
Lancaster Bible has appeared in the NEAC Final in each of the past four seasons and though there has been lots of turnover in the past nine months, the Chargers and their coaching staff see reason to believe they will make it five straight years in the NEAC Final, and maybe more after that.
 
Come on Back: Lancaster Bible welcomes back six players from last season's team, including leading scorer and elder statesman, Herbie Brown. Brown, the only four-year senior on this year's team, led the Chargers with 15.9 points and 190 total rebounds last year, his first as an every-game starter. Another Brown also returns, that of Austin Brown, who put up 8.9 points per game in his first season in Lancaster a year ago, and led the team with 50 3-pointers. Junior Quentin Davis is back as well, as he joined the team after the first semester and averaged 9.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in 21 games last season. Senior Bill Livezey returns as well, coming off a season where he started 19 games and averaged 6.4 points and 2.6 assists per game. Luke Beers, the lone sophomore on this year's team, also returns after scoring 6.5 points and grabbing 2.9 rebounds in a solid role off the bench last season. Junior Alex Whitt is the final returner from last year's team, as he averaged 5.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game a year ago.
 
Welcome Aboard: There will be 17 new players on this year's team, as the Chargers will not only have a varsity team, but also a developmental team for the first time in program history. The developmental team will play a nine-game schedule and provide valuable game experience for many of the freshman, of which there are 14.
 
One of the new faces is actually familiar to the program, as junior Ty Constein rejoins the team after not playing during the 2016-17 season. Constein had a role off the bench during the Chargers' magical run in 2015-16. Senior Jalen Archer joins the program, transferring from Valley Forge, where he played the previous three seasons. Archer averaged 7.7 points and 3.2 assists per game a year ago in Phoenixville, Pa.
 
Christo Majok, a junior, is the only other newcomer with collegiate experience, as he played for Brown Mackie College the past two seasons in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC). Majok averaged 11.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game last season, and finished seventh in the KJCCC with 56 steals.
 
Also joining the Chargers this season are Josh Medina, Matt Pereira, Ben Beers, Britton Beachy, Orlando Burgos, Jack Lachance, Tyler Hilton, Tyler Norris, Garrett Brown (brother of Austin), Josh Jones, Bruce Shaffer, Trevor Greenly, Mitchell Smith and Aaron Hebron.
 
Departed: The Chargers will head into the 2017-18 season without several players from last season's team, including Brett Cataudella (NEAC 3rd Team All-Conference, 12.6 ppg.), Jason Kuntzelman (8.0 ppg., 2.5 apg.), Bryce Reed (2.4 ppg.) and Javon Cole (2.3 ppg.). Cole was the only senior of the group, though he will be a part of this year's squad as a student-assistant coach. Cataudella's contribution will be missed, though the Chargers should have height inside with Davis and Majok.
 
The Killer B's: Herbie Brown, Austin Brown, Luke Beers and Bill Livezey accounted for 50.7 percent of Lancaster Bible's offense a year ago and the four hope to once again lead the Chargers, with the help of Whitt, Davis, Majok, Britton and others. Herbie Brown, the aforementioned lone four-year senior, begins his final season with the Chargers needing just 145 points to become the 23rd player in program history with 1,000 points.
 
Austin Brown drained 50 3-pointers a season ago, just the 18th time in program history that feat had been accomplished, and he will look to not only be dangerous from outside the arc, but all around the court during his second and final year in Lancaster.
 
Beers was one of just five players (H. Brown, A. Brown, Kuntzelman, Whitt) to appear in every one of Lancaster Bible's games last season, as he came on strong in the second half of the season and provided a spark to the Chargers on both ends of the floor. Beers scored in double figures seven times last season and played solid defense for much of the season.
 
Livezey, one of four seniors this year, begins his third year in Lancaster after appearing in 27 games last season. He was one of seven players with 100 or more rebounds and was second on the team with 70 assists.
 
Davis earned nine starts after joining the team after the first semester and eventually led the Chargers with 7.0 rebounds per game. Davis will be called upon down low on defense, as well as on the offensive and defensive glass.
 
Whitt began the 2016-17 season as a starter and eventually found his role coming off the bench. He provided the Chargers with leadership on-and-off the floor a year ago and will look to do the same this year. Whitt also has the ability to score in bunches, as evidenced by his four games with five or more field goals a season ago.
 
Leader of the Pack: Lancaster Bible Head Coach Zach Filzen begins his third season at the helm of the Chargers and feels as though the program will once again be in contention for a NEAC title. Obviously that will come after much work has been put in, both in practice and in game situations.
 
1. With 17 new players from a season ago, how have the guys adjusted and come together and how has the coaching staff handled the changes?
 
Filzen: "The guys have really adjusted and have bought in at a high level. I have been very pleased with it. We have spent a lot of time talking about our team culture, helping our whole program understand what we are all about. We have been talking a lot about the theme of our program, which is, "Best is the Standard." We are trying to help our guys understand the level of excellence God calls us to every day in every area of life. Also, we now have a developmental team aspect to our program. It is very important to our staff that every single member of our program understand they are a very important part of what we do.
 
In addition, we have spent a lot of time teaching and implementing our system. I am pleased with how our guys have picked everything up. It has been a lot to learn and our team has done a very nice job learning and growing.
 
2. With so many new pieces, what is the team hoping to accomplish in the first few weeks of the season?
 
Filzen: I feel very good about the core of guys we are returning. Even though we have a lot of new guys, I think we return a really nice, experienced core that is doing a solid job setting the tone for us. To add to that, we are very high on our incoming class, and it is a talented group that fits what we are all about. When you put the returners with the incoming class, I think we have a talented group that wants to do it the right way.
 
As for the first few weeks of the season, my expectation and goal is that we compete at a very high level and keep getting better. Obviously we would like to start the season on a high not, but at the same time, it is a long season and our goal is to be peaking at the right time of year. We will have a very challenging non-conference schedule that I hope prepares us well for the NEAC.
 
3. Who will the team lean on this season and who has stepped up or looked good during the team's two scrimmages and preseason?
 
Filzen: I have been pleased with progress our returning core has made. They have really tried to lead and set the tone and have met and exceeded my expectations. There have been guys that spent a lot of times in the gym and it has shown.
 
Our whole returning group has looked very comfortable and much improved. I have been especially pleased with the play of Austin Brown, Bill Livezey and Quentin Davis. All three of them have been playing really good basketball thus far.
 
I've been happy with our incoming class, specifically Christo Majok, Jalen Archer and Britton Beachy and all will play big roles for us this season from day one. All three have done some very good things during the preseason.
 
I am very high on our freshman class as a whole, and there are some talented kids that have bright futures as they learn and develop behind some of our returners.
 
4. What are some early things you guys have seen that you will need to work on throughout the season?
 
Filzen: Even though I have been pleased with what I have seen, there is a very long way for us to go. I can't really name one or two things, we just need to keep improving when it comes to executing our system on both ends of the floor. We have been implementing some new aspects to our system that will take time for us to perfect. We have a long way to go when it comes to executing in the half court on both ends of the floor.
 
5. What are your expectations for the team this season?
 
Filzen: As a program, we are pretty excited with what this team can accomplish this season. We don't think or talk a lot about the end goal. Most of our focus comes in living out, "Best is the Standard," every single day. 
 
That being said, we do have the end goal of winning a NEAC Championship and competing in the NCAA Tournament. The returners all experienced the pain of losing last year in the NEAC Final and they are hungry to help this team reach our full potential.
 
Out of the Gate: Lancaster Bible begins its season on Wednesday night at Messiah. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. and you can watch the game at the following link. LIVE VIDEO
 
2017-18 Links:
Team Roster
Team Schedule
Program History
Men picked second in NEAC Preseason Poll