The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team advanced to the North Eastern Athletic Conference Final for the fifth straight season on Saturday, defeating Wilson, 80-70 in front of a packed house at Horst Athletic Center. The victory propels the Chargers to 22-5 this season, and sets a date with Morrisville State in Sunday's NEAC Final. The Mustangs defeated SUNY Poly, 69-63 in the other NEAC Semifinal.

How it Happened: Wilson's Ian Frazier opened the scoring 34 seconds into the game with a 3-pointer, but Lancaster Bible rattled off 10 straight points over the next five minutes to grab a seven-point lead. Junior Christo Majok had five of the 10 points, including a thunderous dunk off a feed from senior Jalen Archer. After Wilson cut its deficit to 10-6, the Chargers extended the lead to nine, 15-6, on five straight points from sophomore Luke Beers. 

Wilson trimmed its deficit again, but the Chargers were up to the task again, and another dunk from Majok gave Lancaster Bible a 21-11 advantage with 9:41 to play in the opening half. Lancaster Bible maintained its lead over the next few minutes, though the Phoenix continued to chip away and cut the deficit to 26-21 on a 3-pointer from Cole Christian. Lancaster Bible led by eight, 35-27 after a 3-pointer from Archer with 1:34 to play, but Frazier converted a layup with 58 seconds left, and the Chargers entered halftime with a 35-29 lead.

Archer and the Chargers came storming out of the gate in the second half, as his five points keyed a 7-0 run, and gave Lancaster Bible a 42-29 lead with 17:03 remaining. The good feeling didn't last long however, as the Phoenix scored the next nine points, the final two coming on a layup from Willie McDowell, that cut the Chargers' lead to four, 42-38. Leading by five moments later, Lancaster Bible used a quick 5-0 run to grab a 54-44 lead. Senior Austin Brown knocked down a 3-pointer during the run, and Lancaster Bible would eventually lead again by 13 with 7:05 to play after a layup from junior Quentin Davis.

Lancaster Bible never could pull away from the Phoenix though, and another 3-pointer from Frazier cut Wilson's deficit to 67-62 with 2:46 to play. The Chargers defense clamped down and forced Wilson into tough shots during the final two minutes, and free throws from Majok made it 71-62 with 1:05 left. Livezey, Beers and Majok would all add more free throws in the final minute of the contest, and Lancaster Bible was on to its fifth straight NEAC Final.

By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 24-of-61 from the field on Saturday, including 10-of-25 from 3-point range...The Chargers were 22-of-28 from the free throw line...Wilson was 24-of-68 from the floor, and 11-of-26 from long distance...Majok led all scorers with 21 points, and also grabbed 12 rebounds and had two blocks and two assists...Archer had 15 points and seven rebounds, as he was 4-of-8 from 3-point range...Beers finished with 12 points and two assists, while senior Herbie Brown had 10 points and five boards as he battled foul trouble all day...Livezey chipped in with eight points, while Austin Brown finished with six points, four rebounds and four assists...Frazier and Christian each had 13 points to pace the Phoenix.

The Coach Says: "It's tough to beat a team three times in a season, especially one like Wilson which has gotten so much better throughout the season," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Zach Filzen said. "They have given us two straight battles, and give credit to their team and coaching staff, they are tough, scrappy and fight for everything. I thought we prepared well for them and were able to do a lot of the things we talked about prior to the game."

On the Play of Majok: "He does so many things to help us win," Filzen said. "He scored more today than he normally does, but that is what make him so special. One day he will lead us in points, and the next he will grab the most rebounds, dish out the most assists or have the most steals. He is one of the most unique and skilled players in the conference. When we get games from him like we did today, we are tough to beat."

Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 8-1 all-time against Wilson...Three of Wilson's seven losses this season came against the Chargers...Lancaster Bible improved to 5-0 all-time in the NEAC Semifinal Round...Lancaster Bible, the best defensive team in the NEAC in terms of points allowed, held the highest scoring team in the conference, Wilson, to 12 points under its average...The 77.6 percent shooting from the free throw line was a season-best for the Chargers, who have now shot over 70 percent from the line over their past four games...Wilson lost just twice after turning the calendar to 2018, with both losses coming to Lancaster Bible...On Sunday, Lancaster Bible and Morrisville State will meet for the NEAC Championship for the third straight season and the fourth time in five years...Morrisville State has won two of the previous three meetings in the NEAC Final, with the lone Chargers victory coming in the 2016 edition...The Mustangs defeated the Chargers, 70-63 in last season's NEAC Final which was held at Gallaudet in Washington, D.C.

Up Next: Lancaster Bible hosts Morrisville State on Sunday at 2 p.m...The winner will earn the NEAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.


Preview of Sunday:
Team Records:
Morrisville State: 19-8 (14-2 during NEAC Regular Season)
Lancaster Bible: 22-5 (15-1 during NEAC Regular Season)

How They Got Here: 
Morrisville State: The Mustangs defeated Cazenovia, 75-70 in the NEAC Quarterfinals, before dispatching SUNY Poly, 69-63 in the NEAC Semifinals on Saturday...The Mustangs lost just twice during NEAC play, with both losses coming in overtime.
Lancaster Bible: The Chargers defeated Penn St. Abington, 83-68 on Tuesday night in the NEAC Quarterfinals, and then defeated Wilson, 80-70 on Saturday in the NEAC Semifinals.

Regular Season Matchup:
The two teams did not meet in the regular season. Due to a hybrid conference schedule this season, Lancaster Bible did not play three teams from the NEAC North Division, one of which was Morrisville State (the other two were SUNY Poly and SUNY Cobleskill).

Information Hodge Podge: 
Morrisville State: The Mustangs are led by NEAC All-Conference players Kevin Dennis (First Team) and Trent Ward (Second Team)...Dennis, who was named NEAC Tournament MVP a year ago as a freshman, lead the Mustangs with 16.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game...Dennis needs just eight points on Sunday to become the sixth player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for his career...He will become the first Morrisville State sophomore to score 1,000 points since 1957...Ward, a four-year senior, averages 13.3 points per game, and is an 86 percent free throw shooter...This will be the third time he faces the Chargers in the NEAC Final...Tyrin Miller averages 11.8 points per game, while Brison Hall adds 10.6 points per contest...Morrisville State has made 195 3-pointer this season, while the Chargers have 192.

Lancaster Bible: The Chargers get contributions from everywhere, as three players score in double figures, while four more average six or more points a game...Herbie Brown leads Lancaster Bible with 16.5 points per game, while Majok averages 12.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest...Davis pours in 11.1 points per game, while Livezey averages 8.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game...Beers leads the team with 48 3-pointers this season, while Austin Brown had 35 3's, and Archer has 32...Archer is the team's best free throw shooter at 84.4 percent (38-of-45)...Like Ward from Morrisville State, senior Herbie Brown will face the Mustangs for the third time in the NEAC Final...Brown had 10 points, six rebounds and four steals in the 2016 NEAC Final win over Morrisville State, and had 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists in last season's 70-63 loss.

The Rivalry:
For two teams that are separated by 251 miles, the Mustangs and Chargers have developed quite a rivalry over the years...The team's first met in the postseason in the 2014 NEAC Final...The Chargers were the surprise team in the conference that year, and hosted the two-time defending champion Mustangs...Morrisville State, led by Jordan Prior held off a late charge from Lancaster Bible and won, 73-65...The teams met again in 2016, and Lancaster Bible entered the game 26-0, and ranked 14th in the country...The Chargers raced out to a 14-point halftime lead and never looked back, winning 97-71 for the program's first and currently only NEAC crown...Last season, the teams surprisingly met in the NEAC Final, as Morrisville State upset top-seed Gallaudet in the semifinals, and Lancaster Bible, which struggled for much of the year, got hot at the right time and defeated Cazenovia in the semifinals to advance to the NEAC Final...Played in front of a sparse crowd at Gallaudet, the Mustangs led by four at halftime, and held off a late push from Lancaster Bible, to win 70-63...Overall, Lancaster Bible is 4-6 all-time against Morrisville State.

How to Watch: The game can be viewed on the Chargers Sports Network, and can be found at the following link: NEAC Final - Morrisville State vs. Lancaster Bible