The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team dropped its fourth game in five tries on Saturday, as the Chargers wrapped up the regular season with an 85-78 loss to Penn St. Abington at Horst Athletic Center. The Chargers are now 14-11 overall and 11-5 in North Eastern Athletic Conference play, while the Nittany Lions improved to 13-12 overall and 10-6 in conference action.
 
Despite the loss, the Chargers have secured the NEAC South Division crown, and will get a bye into the NEAC Semifinals next Saturday in Morrisville, N.Y. Lancaster Bible's opponent is yet to be determined, as the NEAC Final Four will be determined after Tuesday's NEAC Quarterfinals. Lancaster Bible and top-seeded Morrisville State earned byes into the NEAC Semifinals next weekend.
 
How it Happened: Both teams took their time getting their offenses going, as Lancaster Bible freshman made it 6-5 in favor of the Chargers 3:05 into the contest. The Chargers would go on a 7-2 run from there, as Shewbridge had a 3-pointer during the run, and senior Quentin Davis capped it with two free throws.
 
Lancaster Bible would eventually take a 19-9 lead after three straight free throws from Luke Beers, and Brett Bechler's 3-pointer with 9:44 remaining in the half gave the Chargers a 22-11 advantage. The Lancaster Bible offense became a bit stagnant after Bechler's 3-pointer, and the Chargers led just 27-26 after Jay Fitzgerald knocked down a 3-pointer with 5:39 to play.
 
The Chargers maintained a small advantage throughout the rest of the first half, but with three seconds to play in the opening frame, John Ryan converted a layup off an offensive rebound, and gave the Nittany Lions a 41-40 lead at halftime.
 
Penn St. Abington grew its lead to 46-42 early in the second half, but Lancaster Bible stormed back, and after a 3-pointer from Beers tied it at 48-48, Davis threw down a thunderous dunk off a great pass from Britton Beachy, and gave the Chargers a 50-48 advantage.
 
The game went back-and-forth from there, and Shewbridge gave the Chargers a 58-56 lead with another 3-pointer with 11 minutes remaining, but Penn St. Abington answered right back, as Fitzgerald converted a layup to knot the score at 58-58. Fitzgerald was at it again with 5:12 remaining, as he hit a 3-pointer to give Penn St. Abington a 69-64 lead, but Benny Raymond hit a clutch 3-pointer less than a minute later, and the Chargers were within two, 69-67.
 
Lancaster Bible cut its deficit back to two a minute later, but Penn St. Abington would not give in, and Lancaster Bible couldn't find enough offense down the stretch, and lost for the fourth time this season at Horst Athletic Center.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the field, including 12-of-26 from 3-point range…Penn St. Abington shot 52 percent (26-of-50) from the floor, including 7-of-14 from beyond the arc, but the Nittany Lions were also 26-of-35 from the free throw line…Shewbridge led four Lancaster Bible players in double figures with 17 points, while Beers added 16 points and three assists…Davis had 13 points and eight boards, while Raymond was the final player in double figures with 12 points…Alex Whitt had nine points and six rebounds on Senior Day, while Britton Beachy posted six points, eight assists and two boards…Pernell Ghee had 29 points to lead the Nittany Lions, while Fitzgerald added 22.
 
The Coach Says: "Right now we are really struggling to defend the ball, and have been extremely undisciplined with the details of our defense," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Andrew Wingreen said. "We need to continue to trust our teammates to do a better job getting stops."
 
More on Saturday's Loss: "It's disappointing, because we wanted to send our seniors off with a great win at home, but we didn't do the little things in order to accomplish that goal," Wingreen said.
 
On the Week Ahead: "We need to keep feeding the positive dog, and prepare well this week," Wingreen said. "It's a new season, and we will be ready to get after it. It's all about surviving and advancing now."
 
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 12-7 all-time against Penn St. Abington…The Chargers defeated the Nittany Lions, 82-61 earlier this season in Abington, Pa…Lancaster Bible's 46.2 percent shooting from 3-point range is the second-best mark of the year for the Chargers, trailing only the 47.8 percent effort in a 70-61 win over Gallaudet on Dec. 5…On the other side of the coin however, the 27 rebounds were the second-lowest mark of the year for Lancaster Bible…The Chargers are 8-4 at home this season.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible will await its opponent in the NEAC Semifinals, which will take place next Saturday in Morrisville, N.Y…The Charger will play in the second semifinal more than likely, which is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. …Stay tuned to the website for more information throughout the week.