The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team won its second straight game, and got back to the .500 mark on Saturday, as the Chargers defeated St. Elizabeth, 73-59 at Horst Athletic Center. The Chargers are now 3-3 overall this season, and a perfect 2-0 in North Eastern Athletic Conference play, while the Eagles dropped to 5-1 this season and 1-1 in conference action.
 
Game Recap: The Chargers raced out to an 8-0 lead as freshman Jordan Shewbridge hit a 3-pointer, followed by five straight points from junior Luke Beers. St. Elizabeth erased its deficit quickly however, as three 3-pointers from Ted Thelemaque and Darnill Brown tied the game at 9-9.
 
Another 3-pointer from Thelemaque gave the Eagles a 12-11 lead after a layup from senior Quentin Davis, but the Chargers hung tough, and eventually built a 20-16 lead after two free throws from sophomore Tyler Norris with 11:44 to play. In a first half that featured over 20 combined fouls, the Chargers handled the adversity a bit better when it came to the scoreboard, and took a 33-20 lead with 3:20 remaining after two free throws.
 
St. Elizabeth made a final run in the first half however, and cut the Chargers' lead to six, 33-27 with a minute to play, but two late free throws from sophomore Britton Beachy restored the eight-point lead, 35-27, at halftime.
 
Lancaster Bible built its lead to double digits, 37-27, early in the second half, but St. Elizabeth fought back again, and cut the Chargers' lead to 44-39 at the 16:02 mark after a 3-pointer from Darnill Brown. The Chargers' lead shrunk to 44-41 a moment later, but the Chargers used a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to take a 56-43 advantage with 11:41 to play, as Beachy capped the run with a three-point play.
 
The Chargers continued to lead by double digits throughout the rest of the second half, and built the lead to 71-55 with 1:37 to play, as Beachy knocked down two more free throws.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 46.9 percent (23-of-49) from the field, but just 22.7 percent (5-of-22) from 3-point range…The Chargers were 22-of-36 from the free throw line, while the Eagles shot just 31.6 percent (18-of-57) from the floor…Beachy led the Chargers with a career-high 20 points, and also added nine assists and nine rebounds…Beachy was 12-of-17 from the free throw line and pulled down four offensive rebounds…Davis added 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting, and also had eight boards…Luke Beers was the final player in double figures with 10 points, and also added four rebounds and three assists…Isaac Beers finished with nine points and five rebounds, while Whitt had eight points and 10 rebounds…Shewbridge had seven points, as did Norris, who also had six boards…Brown had a team-high 17 points for the Eagles.
 
The Coach Says: "We are doing well defensively, and keeping guys away from the basket, and I thought that really helped us today," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Andrew Wingreen said. "We want to hang our hats on our play on the defensive end, and over the past two games, we've held teams under 60 points, and I think we can say that we've done a good job."
 
On Beachy's Play: "He is our voice on the floor, and just reads the play really well," Wingreen said. "He makes a lot of our offensive calls on the floor, and when he plays composed, he is good, and we are good."
 
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 5-0 all-time against St. Elizabeth…The Chargers are 2-0 at home this season…Despite winning its past two games, Lancaster Bible is just 11-of-52 from beyond the arc…Beachy's previous career high came against RPI last season, when he had 17 points…The Chargers are 2-0 to start NEAC play for the fifth time in the past six seasons.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible plays its final NEAC game of the first semester on Wednesday, as the Chargers host Gallaudet at 7:30 p.m.