The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team posted its biggest offensive output of the season on Wednesday night, as the Chargers hammered Penn St. Berks, 91-52 at Horst Athletic Center. The Chargers are now 9-6 overall and improved to 6-1 in North Eastern Athletic Conference, while the Nittany Lions dropped to 1-14 overall and 1-6 in NEAC action.
 
How it Happened: The Chargers and Nittany Lions took their time getting things going offensively on Wednesday night, and it was Lancaster Bible who broke out of the funk early, as the Chargers took a 10-3 lead on five straight points from freshman Jordan Shewbridge. Fellow freshman Benny Raymond knocked down two straight 3-pointers moments later, and another triple from junior Luke Beers grew the home team's lead to 19-8 with 10:20 to play in the opening half.
 
Shewbridge hit another 3-pointer a minute later, and senior Quentin Davis' jumper with 8:56 to play gave the Chargers a 24-8 lead, and capped a 21-5 run. The Nittany Lions woke up a bit offensively as the half progressed, and kept the game within reach the rest of the half, as Lancaster Bible led 35-22 at the break.
 
Penn St. Berks came out firing in the second half, and cut its deficit to four, 35-31 just 2:10 into the half, as Steve Luchansky hit a 3-pointer. Lancaster Bible responded, and used a quick 6-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from sophomore Tyler Norris to re-take a 10-point lead.
 
Leading 42-33 with 14:40 to play, Lancaster Bible embarked on a 21-3 run over the next 4:53, and led 63-36 after a layup from sophomore Britton Beachy. The Chargers seemingly couldn't miss during the scoring run, as Shewbridge, Raymond, and Beachy all got in on the action, as well as a thunderous put-back dunk from Davis.
 
Raymond hit two more 3-pointers later in the half, and his final triple of the night gave the Chargers an 81-43 lead with 4:58 remaining. Freshman Nick Songster and sophomore Hunter Gerber converted buckets for the Chargers down the stretch, as the Chargers defeated Penn St. Berks for the second time this season.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 50 percent (32-of-64) from the floor, including 14-of-31 from 3-point range…The Chargers were also 13-of-21 from the free throw line…Penn St. Berks shot 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the field, but were just 5-of-20 from beyond the arc…Shewbridge finished with a game-high and career-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 6-of-11 from 3-point range…Raymond also had a career-high, as he had 20 points on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc…Norris was the other player in double figures with 11 points, while also adding seven rebounds…Beachy had nine points and eight assists, while Davis had seven points, nine rebounds and three assists…Latrell Carroll had a team-high 17 points and 13 boards for the Nittany Lions…The Lancaster Bible bench outscored the Penn St. Berks bench by a margin of 60-2.
 
The Coach Says: "We rely so much on our confidence, it was nice to see all of those shots go in," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Andrew Wingreen said. "We talked about three things before the game - Complacency, Confidence, and Comparison - and I thought we freed ourselves from complacency tonight, gained a lot of confidence, and didn't compare ourselves to anyone else, and just played our game. We really couldn't ask for much more from those three words."
 
On the Team's Offensive Play: "We have been talking so much about pushing the tempo, and then controlling the game's tempo, and I thought we did a good job of both of those things tonight," Wingreen said. "I think we are understanding more and more on how to push the tempo, our focus now needs to be on controlling each game's tempo as best we can."
 
On the Play of Tyler Norris: "Tyler had a terrific game tonight, and was really active on the boards, and had some strong finishes on the glass," Wingreen said.
 
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 15-6 all-time against Penn St. Berks…The Chargers defeated the Nittany Lions, 74-58 on November 28 in Reading, Pa…The 91 points scored are a season-high and the most scored by the Chargers since February 17, 2018 when Lancaster Bible defeated Bryn Athyn, 98-57 to close out the regular season…The Chargers are 6-2 at home this season, including 4-1 in home NEAC games…The 14 made 3-pointers are a season-high, and the sixth time this season the Chargers have had double-digit 3-pointers made in a contest…The Chargers also had  season-best 23 assists on Wednesday.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible is scheduled to play Penn St. Abington on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Abington, Pa., though this weekend's weather event may move the game up or back depending on the track of the storm. Stay tuned to the website and our social media pages for the latest information.