The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team saw its chances of back-to-back North Eastern Athletic Conference Championships come to an end on Saturday, as the Chargers lost to SUNY Poly, 67-64 in the NEAC Semifinals in Morrisville, N.Y. The Chargers are now 14-12 overall this season, and will now turn their attention to the NCCAA Division I Playoffs. This will mark the first time since the 2012-13 season that the Chargers will not appear in the NEAC Final, as the Chargers had appeared in the previous five NEAC Finals.
 
How it Happened: SUNY Poly jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the early minutes of the game, and eventually led 14-8 with 13:23 to play in the opening half after a 3-pointer from Redell Freeman. Lancaster Bible fought back, and a jumper from Luke Beers brought the Chargers to within one, 18-17, with 8:37 remaining in the first half. Senior Quentin Davis stole the ball from Peyton Griffiths 30 seconds later, and Davis' layup on the other end, gave the Chargers their first lead of the game, 19-18.
 
The Chargers would mount a 7-0 run a few minutes later, and took a 28-22 advantage after a 3-pointer from Jordan Shewbridge with 2:23 to go in the half. Lancaster Bible extended its lead to 33-24 with 1:22 to play after a layup from Britton Beachy, but SUNY Poly scored five late points, and the Chargers led just 33-29 after 20 minutes of play.
 
Davis opened the second half with a dunk, and his layup 2:07 into the second frame gave the Chargers a 39-31 advantage. Beachy followed with another layup, and Shewbridge knocked down a 3-pointer with 16:38 to play to give Lancaster Bible a 44-31 lead.
 
SUNY Poly used a 7-0 run cut the Chargers' lead in half, but a three-point play from Davis restored the Lancaster Bible lead to nine, 47-38 with 14:16 left. Again though, SUNY Poly had the right answers, and used a 9-0 run to tie the game at 47-47 with 11:15 remaining. Despite the game being tied, Lancaster Bible never trailed midway through the second half, and in fact, held a small lead until Josh Gregory hit two free throws with 6:19 to play to give the Wildcats a 57-56 edge.
 
Both offenses stalled in the final minutes, but Davis continued to be a force, and his layup with 2:58 remaining pulled the Chargers to within two, 64-62. Freeman hit a 3-pointer late in the shot clock with 1:46 to play to extend SUNY Poly's lead to 67-62. Beachy converted another layup on Lancaster Bible's next trip down the floor, but the Chargers were 0-of-5 from the floor the rest of the game, and couldn't find the equalizer as time expired.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 40.3 percent (27-of-67) from the floor, but just 3-of-14 from 3-point range, and 7-of-11 from the free throw line…SUNY Poly shot 45.8 percent (22-of-48) from the field, including 7-of-16 from beyond the arc, and were 16-of-22 from the free throw line…Lancaster Bible led 44-24 in points in the paint…Davis had a game-high 32 points, the second-largest output of his career, and also added nine rebounds, four steals and three assists…Beachy had eight points, seven assists and six rebounds…Luke Beers added seven points and seven boards, while Shewbridge added six points…Alex Whitt had four points and six rebounds, while Tyler Norris had five points…Freeman and Gregory each had 21 points for the Wildcats.
 
Information Hodge Podge: The Chargers are now 6-4 all-time against SUNY Poly…The Chargers defeated the Wildcats, 71-67 on Jan. 13 in Lancaster…Lancaster Bible is now 0-2 in neutral site games this season…Davis ' career high is 38 points, which he set earlier this season at Wells…Since beating Morrisville State on February 2, the Chargers are just 1-5…The Chargers are outscoring their opponents by 59 points in the first half, but are being outscored by eight points in the second half…This is the first time the Chargers have lost in the NEAC Semifinals, as the team was 5-0 prior to Saturday.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible has met its qualifications for the NCCAA Division I Regional Playoffs, and will now await to learn the other teams who have qualified as well. A full schedule for the NCCAA Mideast Region Playoffs will be released as soon as it becomes available.