The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team opened its season with a victory on Wednesday night, defeating Messiah, 75-66 in Grantham, Pa. The Chargers led by 11 at halftime, 40-29 and though Messiah made a few runs in the second half, the Chargers never lost the lead and won by nine. This is the second time in the last three seasons Lancaster Bible has beaten Messiah.

First Half Highlights: 
-Trailing 7-6 early in the first half, Lancaster Bible collected back-to-back 3-pointers from freshman Britton Beachy and junior Christo Majok to take a 12-7 lead
-Messiah tied the game at 14-14, but the Chargers used a 7-0 run to grab a 21-14 advantage thanks to buckets from sophomore Luke Beers, junior Quentin Davis and senior Bill Livezey
-The Falcons hung tough and grabbed a 23-22 advantage later in the first half
-Lancaster Bible took its turn to make a run and Beers provided the spark as his 3-pointer with 3:43 to play in the half gave the Chargers a 31-24 lead
-Two Livezey buckets sandwiched around a Messiah basket put Lancaster Bible up 35-26 and Beers knocked down another 3-pointer with 2:07 remaining to extend Lancaster Bible's advantage to 38-26

Second Half Highlights:
-Messiah cut its deficit to 10 at 42-32 just 1:38 into the second half, but Lancaster Bible went on a 7-0 run to build its lead to 17...Majok had five of the seven points, two of which came on a thunderous dunk
-After a bucket by the Falcons, Lancaster Bible scored five more points and took a 54-34 lead with 13:30 to play
-Lancaster Bible continued to maintain its double figure lead over the next six minutes, but Messiah used a 7-0 run to cut its deficit to six at 57-51
-Five straight points by Majok restored Lancaster Bible's 11-point lead at 62-51
-Lancaster Bible's lead was cut to seven again, but 3-points by Majok and senior Jalen Archer wrapped around a dunk from Davis, gave the Chargers a 70-57 lead and Lancaster Bible was never threatened again

By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 28-of-56 (50 percent) from the floor, including 11-of-18 (61.1 percent) from beyond the arc...Messiah shot just 31.9 percent from the floor...Majok had a team-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting for the Chargers and also grabbed six rebounds and had three steals...Livezey finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists...Beers was the final player in double figures for the Chargers with 12 points, all of which came via the 3-pointer...Davis added eight points, while senior Herbie Brown and Archer each had six points...Colin Sareyka had a game-high 25 points for Messiah.

The Coach Says: "I thought tonight was a good start," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Zach Filzen said. "We found a way to win and there were some good moments where we were really solid."

On the Team's Play: "I liked that we played together as a team and thought Christo, Bill and Luke were terrific," Filzen said. "We have the type of team that can have two or three guys go off at any time and on Friday, it could be a completely different three guys who have strong games."

Looking Ahead: "We have a long way to go, especially with our half-court play on both ends of the floor," Filzen said. "Overall though, a good start and we will build from here."

Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 2-9 all-time against Messiah...The Chargers other win against Messiah came in the program's best season, the 2015-16 campaign...The Falcons defeated the Chargers, 70-64 last season in Lancaster...This is just the third time in the past 10 seasons that Lancaster Bible has opened its season with a win.

Up Next: Lancaster Bible takes on Alvernia on Friday at 5:30 p.m. in the opening game of the William Marshall Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Franklin & Marshall...Friday's results will determine who and when the Chargers play on Saturday.