The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team opened the 2018-19 season with a victory over Messiah, 81-72, in front of a packed house at Horst Athletic Center on Tuesday evening. The Chargers are now 1-0 this season, while the Falcons dropped to 2-1.

How it Happened: Lancaster Bible came out firing, and built a 9-3 lead 4:15 into the game thanks to a 3-pointer from freshman Jordan Shewbridge. After Messiah cut the Chargers' advantage to one, 9-8, Shewbridge hit another triple and gave Lancaster Bible a 12-8 advantage.
 
Messiah trimmed its deficit to one again, at 16-15, but Lancaster Bible used a 9-0 run to build its first double-digit lead of the contest. Three different players scored on the run, including Luke Beers, Quentin Davis and Alex Whitt.
 
Lancaster Bible extended its lead to as many as 15 points with just under seven minutes to play, as Shewbridge knocked down two more 3-pointers to give the Chargers a 33-18 lead. The lead stayed in double digits for much of the rest of the first half, but a late 9-2 run by Messiah cut its deficit to nine, 44-35, heading into halftime.
 
Lancaster Bible maintained a 8-10 point lead throughout the first eight minutes of the second half, but with 11:50 to play, Kyle Krout knocked down a 3-pointer and cut the Falcons' deficit to six, 56-50. The Chargers hung tough, and after they saw their lead shrink to six again after a layup from Colin Sareyka, Luke Beers hit a big 3-pointer with 7:49 to play to restore the Chargers' nine-point advantage.
 
Shewbridge's last 3-pointer of the game gave Lancaster Bible a 70-58 lead with 6:35 to play, but Messiah used an 11-0 run over the next 3:40 to bring the Chargers' lead to just one, 70-69 with 2:55 remaining.
 
After the teams traded points, Isaac Beers put up a 3-pointer late in the shot clock with 1:48 to play, and hit nothing but net, as he gave the Chargers a 74-71 lead. After a turnover by Messiah, Luke Beers got loose in the right corner, and hit another 3-pointer and drove the dagger into the Falcons, as the Chargers never looked back, winning by nine.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 53.6 percent (30-of-56) from the floor and 42.9 percent (12-of-28) from beyond the arc…The Falcons shot 38.5 percent (25-of-65) from the field, and just 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from 3-point range…Shewbridge led the Chargers with 17 points, while Luke Beers had 16 points, four rebounds and two assists…Davis added 15 points, four assists and three blocks…Whitt was the final player in double figures with 11 points and five boards…Isaac Beers had nine points and six rebounds, while Britton Beachy had two points, five rebounds and four assists…Sareyka led all scorers with 23 points.
 
The Coach Says: "I thought we executed the game plan well tonight, and thought we played free and confident," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Andrew Wingreen said after picking up the first win of his head coaching career. "We had a lot of fouls, but we played with lots of energy on both ends of the floor and thought we responded every time we needed to."
 
On the play of the team's freshmen: "The new guys were awesome tonight," Wingreen said. "They didn't have any jitters, and played free and loose. In addition to them, guys who came off the bench gave great minutes, and made a lot of the big plays of the game. Whether it was good minutes from Joey Parsons, Tyler Norris, Tyler Hilton, Brett Bechler, or others, they all came in and played their role."
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 3-9 all-time against Messiah…The Chargers have won three of the past four meetings against the Falcons…In their first game together on the collegiate level, Luke and Isaac Beers combined for 25 points, 10 rebounds and four assists…Lancaster Bible had double-digit 3-pointers seven times in a game last season…The Chargers have won 11 straight home games dating back to last season.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible will take part in the Salisbury Optimist International Tournament in Salisbury, Md. this Friday and Saturday…The Chargers will face host Salisbury on Friday night at 7:30 p.m., and then play at either 2 p.m. or 4 p.m. on Saturday depending on Friday evening's result.