The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team will find itself in familiar territory on Sunday afternoon as the Chargers defeated Cazenovia, 67-53 in the North Eastern Athletic Conference Semifinals on Saturday to advance to the NEAC Final for the fourth straight season. Not only will the game be familiar, but the opponent will too, as Lancaster Bible and Morrisville State will play for the conference title for the third time in four seasons. 

The Mustangs defeated the Chargers, 73-65 in the 2014 NEAC Final, while the Chargers returned the favor a year ago, defeating Morrisville State, 97-71 in the 2016 NEAC Final. 

Lancaster Bible is now 14-13 this season, while Cazenovia ends its season at 10-17.

How it Happened: On Saturday, Lancaster Bible opened the game slowly and trailed 7-2 just 2:47 into the contest, but the defense clamped down for the Chargers and Lancaster Bible used a 12-0 run over the next six minutes to grab a 14-7 lead midway through the opening half. Junior Herbie Brown keyed the run for Lancaster Bible as he scored four points and added an assist on a 3-pointer from fellow junior Bill Livezey. 

The Wildcats were held without a point for 6:08, but stayed in the game and re-took the lead, 17-15 with 8:40 remaining in the first half. The teams traded baskets for several minutes, but freshman Brett Cataudella took over for the Chargers late in the half, scoring six straight points at one point, and gave Lancaster Bible a 27-21 lead with under two minutes to play.

Sophomore Quentin Davis added a dunk for the Chargers with just under a minute to play in the opening half, but Cazenovia's Nicholas Filippi hit a jumper with 26 seconds to play, and Lancaster Bible led 29-25 at halftime. 

The game remained close in the early minutes of the second half as Lancaster Bible led just 32-31 four minutes into the half. The Chargers began working the ball inside and used a 9-0 run to take a 41-31 lead with 11:52 remaining. Cataudella and Davis combined for six of the nine points, while sophomore Austin Brown knocked down a big 3-pointer with a defender in his face. 

Cazenovia cut its deficit to seven at one point, but Lancaster Bible extended its lead to 13 after another 3-pointer from Austin Brown and two free throws from Herbie Brown. The Chargers continued to lead by double digits and put the game away with just over four minutes remaining as Herbie Brown drained a 3-pointer and freshman Luke Beers knocked down back-to-back jumpers to give Lancaster Bible a 63-47 lead with 3:29 remaining. 

By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 39.3 percent (24-of-61) from the field and 15-of-25 from the free throw line...Cazenovia shot 28.1 percent (18-of-64) and just 4-of-23 from beyond the arc...Davis led all scorers with 17 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds...Herbie Brown had 14 points and four steals, while Cataudella added nine points and 10 rebounds...Austin Brown also had nine points, while sophomore Jason Kuntzelman had six points and nine boards...Livezey chipped in with seven points, three boards and two assists...Will Thompson had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats.

The Coach Says: "Today was a pretty ugly, but we found a way and fought hard," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Zach Filzen said. "We executed well in the second half and we have gotten a lot better defensively." 

On Sunday's Game: "We are obviously excited to be back in the NEAC Final and we are right where we wanted to be on February 26," Filzen said. "We are going to have to play very well on Sunday as Morrisville State is playing great basketball. We will get some rest tonight and prepare for a tough game on Sunday."

Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 8-0 all-time against Cazenovia...The Chargers defeated the Wildcats, 66-53 during the regular season...Each team turned the ball over just 13 times...Lancaster Bible held a 52-39 rebounding advantage...The Chargers outscored the Wildcats, 34-24 in the paint...Lancaster Bible is now 6-3 in February and has won four of its last five games...The Chargers average 41.5 rebounds per game, but had a season-low 26 against Morrisville State in the regular season matchup of the two teams which the Mustangs won, 86-73 in Lancaster, Pa. on Jan. 20.

Up Next: Lancaster Bible faces Morrisville State in the NEAC Final on Sunday at 2 p.m...The game will be at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. as the top-seeded Bison were upended by Morrisville State, 72-68 in the first NEAC Semifinal...The winner of Sunday's NEAC Final will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.