The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team put together one of the biggest comebacks in recent program history on Sunday, as the Chargers overcame an 18-point first-half deficit, and defeated SUNY Poly, 71-67 at Horst Athletic Center. The victory propels the Chargers to 8-6 overall this season and 5-1 in North Eastern Athletic Conference play, while the Wildcats dropped to 4-11 overall and 1-5 in conference play.
 
How it Happened: Lancaster Bible's Alex Whitt tied the game at 8-8 just over four minutes into the game, but things went from bad to worse, really quickly for the Chargers over the next six minutes, as SUNY Poly embarked on an 18-0 run, to take a 26-8 lead with 9:50 remaining in the first half.
 
Lancaster Bible converted just two buckets over the first 12 minutes of the contest, and Tyler Hilton's 3-pointer at the 7:42 mark was the first basket for the Chargers in almost an eight-minute span. The Wildcats extended the lead back to 17, but the Chargers slowly began to chip away at their deficit, and cut it to eight, 32-24, after a 3-pointer from Isaac Beers with 2:29 to play. The teams traded baskets over the final two minutes, and a free throw from Quentin Davis trimmed the home team's deficit to seven, 36-29 at the half.
 
The final 20 minutes was a grind for both teams, as they exchanged baskets and solid defensive possessions. Every time the Chargers battled to within three or four points, SUNY Poly would extend its lead back to six or seven points, as they did with 12:13 remaining on a layup from Josh Gregory.
 
Lancaster Bible finally got over the hump with 6:17 to play, as Davis capped a 7-0 run with a nice layup to give the Chargers a 54-52 lead. Another back-and-forth ensued, and SUNY Poly grabbed a 63-60 lead with 2:36 remaining. After a big 3-pointer from Jordan Shewbridge tied the game, Alex Whitt hit 1-of-2 free throws to give the Chargers a 64-63 lead with 1:42 to play.
 
SUNY Poly tied the game on 1-of-2 free throws, but an alley-oop dunk by Davis on a pass from Britton Beachy gave Lancaster Bible a two-point lead with 1:12 remaining. Beachy hit two big free throws with 39 seconds remaining to make it a three-point game, 68-65, and after an empty possession from the Wildcats, Isaac Beers was fouled, and made 1-of-2 free throws to make it a two-possession game.
 
The Wildcats would cut the deficit to two with nine seconds left, but Beachy converted two more free throws with six seconds remaining, and finally put the Wildcats away.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 34.9 percent (22-of-63) from the field, and began the game on a 2-of-18 stretch from the floor…The Chargers did shoot 36.7 percent (11-of-30) from beyond the arc, and were 16-of-22 from the free throw line…Raymond had 15 points to lead the Chargers, while Davis added 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists…Whitt was the final player in double figures with 12, as he added three boards and three assists…Britton Beachy chipped in with eight points, while Isaac Beers had four points, three boards and two assists…Redell Freeman had a game-high 22 points for the Wildcats, while teammate Josh Gregory added 19 points and 12 rebounds.
 
The Coach Says: "I'm proud of the way the team fought back after an early deficit, and this is a game we need to build on," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Andrew Wingreen said. "Today was the best we have responded to adversity all season long, and we all need to embrace the mentality it took today to overcome that deficit."
 
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 6-3 all-time against SUNY Poly…Sunday was the first meeting between the two teams since February 17, 2017 when the Chargers lost to SUNY Poly, 83-67 in Utica, N.Y…The Chargers are now 5-2 at home this season…Sunday marked the fifth time this season the Chargers have made double-digit 3-pointers in a game, as the team knocked down 11 against the Wildcats…The Chargers were 30-of-39 from the free throw line over the weekend…Lancaster Bible was outrebounded, 40-22 on Sunday, the team's second-largest deficit of the season.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible hosts Penn St. Berks on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.