The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team finished off the first semester with a perfect record in North Eastern Athletic Conference play, as the Chargers and St. Elizabeth played a roller coaster contest on Saturday in Morristown, N.J., with the Chargers earning a 75-66 victory. Lancaster Bible improves to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in conference play, while St. Elizabeth drops to 2-6 overall and 0-4 in NEAC action.

1^st Half Highlights:
-Lancaster Bible struggled out of the gate, scoring just three points in the opening 6:50 of the contest
-St. Elizabeth took advantage of Lancaster Bible's slow start and led 18-9 with nine minutes remaining in the first half after a 3-pointer from Ken'ly Aris
-The Chargers scored the game's next five points, to trim their deficit to five, but St. Elizabeth answered right back with five straight points of their own to lead 23-14 with 6:58 to play
-Over the next 4:14, Lancaster Bible would outscore the Eagles, 9-1 and trailed just 24-23 after a layup from Christo Majok with 2:44 remaining in the opening half
-Lancaster Bible wouldn't get any closer than that in the first half and trailed 29-25 at the break
 
2^nd Half Highlights:
-The teams traded baskets through the first five minutes of the second half, with St. Elizabeth taking a 39-33 lead on a layup from Cam Tucker with 15:41 to play
-A three-point play from Majok and a layup from senior Herbie Brown cut the Chargers' deficit to one, 39-38 and Lancaster Bible took its first lead of the game on another layup from Majok with 14:25 left
-The Chargers would take the lead for good two possessions later and use a 6-0 run, capped off by a layup from junior Alex Whitt, to take a 50-43 lead with 11:31 to play
-St. Elizabeth wouldn't go away however, and trimmed its deficit to two on several occasions, the final one coming with 6:48 to play, when Ty'ier Grier knocked down two free throws to make it a 59-57 in favor of Lancaster Bible
-The Chargers used a 10-1 run following the free throws by Grier to take their biggest lead of the game, 69-58. The run featured a dunk by Majok, and was capped by a layup from junior Quentin Davis
-The final minutes of the game, and frankly most of Saturday's contest, took a while as the teams combined for 51 fouls and 43 turnovers
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 26-of-75 (34.7 percent) from the floor, including 6-of-25 from 3-point range…St. Elizabeth shot 21-of-56 (37.5 percent) from the field and just 4-of-18 from beyond the arc…The Chargers held a 58-35 advantage in rebounds, including a 27-8 edge on the offensive glass…Majok led the Chargers with 20 points and 14 rebounds, nine of which were on the offensive end…Senior Austin Brown had 11 points, as did Davis, who also added 17 rebounds…Senior Herbie Brown was the other player in double figures with 10 points…Sophomore Luke Beers and Whitt added six points each, while senior Jalen Archer and freshman Britton Beachy each had five points…Senior Bill Livezey was held off the scoreboard, but chipped in with six rebounds, a team-high four assists and three steals…Tucker had a team-high 15 points for St. Elizabeth.

The Coach Says: Today was ugly again, but it's encouraging that we are finding ways to win, even when we don't play a full, complete game," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Zach Filzen said. "We were down at the half for another road game, but again, we came out to play in the second half and found a way. It's great to start NEAC play with a 4-0 record and I think we can keep improving. Our guys are not satisfied and there is good maturity with this group."

Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 3-0 all-time against St. Elizabeth…The Chargers defeated the Eagles, 96-82 in Morristown a year ago and then beat St. Elizabeth, 95-65 in Lancaster in late January…Lancaster Bible is 11-6 all-time in conference games prior to Christmas…This is the fourth time in seven seasons, including the fourth in five seasons, the Chargers have been unbeaten in conference play, after the first semester…Lancaster Bible was 2-2 in NEAC play last year before Christmas…Herbie Brown's 10 points on Saturday give him 954 for his career, as he closes in on becoming the 22^nd player in program history to score 1,000 points.

Up Next: Lancaster Bible hosts Wesley on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Horst Athletic Center.