The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team saw its four-game winning streak come to an end on Thursday night, as the Chargers fell to Dickinson, 53-44 at Horst Athletic Center.
 
In one of the stranger games in some time for the Chargers, they led 22-12 at half, but were outscored by 19 in the second half, and fell to 5-4 this season. The Red Devils improved to 4-6 with the victory, as the Chargers enter the Christmas Break a game over the .500 mark.
 
How it Happened: The first half of Thursday night's game will not be in any illustrative books on how to play offense, as both teams struggled mightily from the field. Lancaster Bible led 4-0 after two buckets from senior Quentin Davis, while junior Luke Beers made it 6-0 on a jumper with 13:55 remaining in the first half.
 
The Red Devils finally got on the board at 12:21, as Will Colleran hit a turnaround jumper in the paint. Beers drained two 3-pointers around a layup from senior Alex Whitt, and the Chargers led 14-4 with 6:31 remaining in the half. After Dickinson chipped away at the deficit to make it a six-point game, Lancaster Bible restored its 10-point lead with back-to-back baskets from sophomore Tyler Hilton. A late jumper from Beers gave the Chargers a 22-12 lead at the break, as the teams combined for just 14 made field goals in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Lancaster Bible went cold on the offensive end early in the second half, and compounded with Dickinson's offense waking up, the Red Devils quickly took the lead. Dickinson scored the first 16 points of the second frame, and led 28-22 after two free throws from Chris Bates with 14:25 remaining.
 
The Chargers hung around, and after finally scoring, took a 31-30 lead on a layup from Davis with nine minutes remaining. The Red Devils re-took the lead a moment later, and built a 39-31 lead after a 3-pointer from Bryce Allen with 6:14 to play.
 
Lancaster Bible desperately tried to get back into the game, but couldn't get buckets to fall down the stretch, and lost by nine.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot just 31 percent (18-of-58) from the floor, including 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from 3-point range…The Chargers were also just 4-of-12 from the free throw line…Dickinson shot 37.8 percent (17-of-45) from the field, and 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from beyond the arc…The Red Devils shot just 4-of-21 from the field in the first half, but were 13-of-24 in the second half…Davis led the Chargers with 12 points and 18 rebounds, while Hilton had 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting…Beers was the final  player in double figures with 10, as he added five rebounds and two assists as well…Elijah Wright led all scorers with 17 points, and added nine rebounds.
 
The Coach Says: "I thought we got some good looks in the first half, and just missed shots, but in the second half, they took us out of our rhythm, and we didn't execute well at all," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Andrew Wingreen said. "We have to start hitting shots around the basket, and really need to start making free throws. I think our defense is getting better and to a place where we want it, but we need to overcome adversity better and stick with our game."
 
 
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 0-6 all-time against Dickinson…This was the first meeting between the teams since Feb. 2, 2009 when the Red Devils defeated the Chargers, 80-43 in Carlisle, Pa…Thursday marked the first home loss of the season for the Chargers, and just the second in the 2018 calendar year for the Chargers, who lost their first game of 2018 on Jan. 3 against Juniata…For the 2018 calendar year, the Chargers were 14-2 at Horst Athletic Center…Despite the loss, the Chargers held an opponent under 60 points for the third time this season, and under 65 points for the fifth time this year.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible will return to practice later this month, and will resume play on Jan. 2, 2019 at Juniata.