The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team took its second trip to upstate New York in the past three weeks on Friday and like the last trip, didn't play well enough for stretches of time, and lost to SUNY Polytechnic, 83-67 in Utica, N.Y. The loss drops the Chargers to 11-13 overall and 11-8 in North Eastern Athletic Conference play, while the Wildcats improved to 18-6 overall and 15-2 in NEAC action.
 
How it Happened: The Chargers' offense stuttered early in the game, scoring only six points in the first five minutes of the opening half. Jason Kuntzelman got the Chargers first points of the game with a 3-pointer that tied the game, but that was the only time that the Chargers would share a tie with the Wildcats for the rest of the game.
 
With 15 minutes to play in the first half, the Wildcats went on a 17-8 run to blow their lead open to 12 points. The run was topped off by a slam dunk coming from Terrynce Wilson.
 
After a foul by Quentin Davis gave the Wildcats free throws to grow their lead to 35-17 with five minutes remaining in the half (their biggest lead of the game), the Chargers began to fight their way back into the game.
 
Lancaster Bible went on a 13-6 run to end the half and trailed just 41-30 heading into the locker room.  Herbie Brown and Quinten Davis led the run as they combined to score the last 10 points of the half for the Chargers. Jason Kuntzelman and Bill Livezey were also able to contribute some key assists throughout the run as Lancaster Bible scored the final six points of the half.
 
The second half was a battle to keep the game close. The Chargers and Wildcats traded buckets for the first two minutes of the half as Brett Cataudella started off the scoring for the Chargers, converting a layup 41 seconds into the second half.
 
The Wildcats were able to regain a 14-point lead, 49-35, after a three pointer was made by Joseph Ojo, followed by a layup from Kevin Williams with 16:49 remaining in the game.
 
A 10-3 scoring run over the next four minutes brought the Chargers back into striking distance, as freshman Luke Beers sank one of two free throws to trim SUNY Poly's lead to 52-45.
 
Davis opened the 10-3 spurt with a dunk and sophomore Austin Brown had seven of the 10 points.
 
After free throws by Quayshaun Mitchell restored the Wildcats' double digit lead, the Chargers battled to back and forth with Wildcats to stay within striking distance. A layup by sophomore Alex Whitt and two free throws from junior Herbie Brown made it a six-point game, 58-52, with 9:26 to play, but the Chargers would not get any closer.
 
The Wildcats quickly got back into scoring mode, as they turned around and went on a 20-13 run in the next few minutes, growing their lead back to 16 points with 2:08 remaining in regulation.
 
This 16-point lead would end up holding off the Chargers, as they fell by a score of 83-67.

By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 38.2 percent (21-of-55) from the field, including 30 percent (6-of-20) from beyond the arc… SUNY Polytechnic shot 52.1 percent (25-of-48) from the field, including a solid 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from 3-point range… Austin Brown led the Chargers with 18 points, including three 3-pointers... Herbie Brown scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds…Terrynce Williams led the scoring for the Wildcats with 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting… Quayshaun Mitchell added 19 for the Wildcats, converting 10-of-13 free throws… The Chargers finished with 17 turnovers, while SUNY Poly had 16…The Chargers also lost the rebounding edge by one, 35-34.
 
The Coach Says: "We had a very slow start and though I thought we played well in the second half, we just dug ourselves too deep of a hole in the first half," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Zach Filzen said. "Poly is a very experience squad and it was good for our young guys to play a team like that on the road."
 
"We have to be more consistent on Saturday at SUNY Cobleskill and next week in the playoffs," Filzen said. "The goal is to play well on Saturday and use that as we head into a big week."
 
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 5-3 all-time against SUNY Polytechnic…The loss snaps a five-game win streak over the Wildcats as the Chargers defeated SUNY Poly twice during the 2013-14 season, once during 2014-15 and twice again last season, including a 75-57 victory in the NEAC Semifinals…The 19 made free throws for the Chargers on Friday are tied for the third-most in a game this season…Lancaster Bible was held under 40 rebounds for the third straight game, the longest stretch of the season for the Chargers.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible closes out the regular season on Saturday at SUNY Cobleskill…Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m.