The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team won its third straight game on Wednesday night thanks to a big second half, defeating Penn College, 85-63 at Horst Athletic Center. The victory is also the sixth straight home win for the Chargers who are now 8-9 overall and 6-2 in North Eastern Athletic Conference play, while the Wildcats dropped to 5-12 overall and 3-5 in conference action.
 
How it Happened: The teams struggled to get going offensively early in the first half, as Ryan Lockman's 3-pointer with 12:44 remaining gave the Wildcats a 12-8 lead. Penn College eventually led 14-8, but Lancaster Bible embarked on a 10-0 run which senior Luke Beers kicked off with five straight points. A 3-pointer from Jordan Shewbridge gave the Chargers the lead, and Adam Stoltzfus ended the run with two free throws.
 
Beers and Shewbridge knocked down two more 3-pointers later in the half, and Shewbridge's gave Lancaster Bible a 27-19 lead with 6:41 to play in the half. The Chargers led, 35-27 with 2:25 to play after another triple from Shewbridge, but the Wildcats dominated the final two minutes, and Elijah Vazquez's 3-pointer with three seconds remaining in the half tied the game at 35-35 as the teams headed to the locker room.
 
Both teams came out hot from the floor in the second half, as Vazquez answered William Afoakwah's layup with a 3-pointer, and gave Penn College a 38-37 lead 23 seconds into the half. The lead lasted just 17 seconds, as Brett Bechler connected for a 3-pointer and restored Lancaster Bible's lead.
 
Lancaster Bible put the pedal to the floor midway through the second half, as the Chargers went on a 17-0 run to pull away from the Wildcats. Afoakwah had layups around a basket from Brion Elliott, and a 3-pointer from Kobe Devine followed by a 3-pointer from Beers increased Lancaster Bible's lead to 57-42, and Beers capped the run a minute later with another triple that gave the Chargers a 62-42 advantage. The Chargers led by as many as 24 late in the second half, as the team continued to drain 3-pointer after 3-pointer.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 43.3 percent (29-of-67) from the floor, including 13-of-28 from 3-point range…The Chargers scored 29 points off of 18 Penn College turnovers, and also held a 16-2 lead in second-chance points…Beers finished with a career-high 20 points, and also added six rebounds and three steals…Shewbridge had 17 points and five assists, while Afoakwah was the third and final player in double figures with 11 points, and he also added seven boards…Beachy had nine points, five rebounds, and four assists, while Adam Stoltzfus had eight points and eight boards…Kobe Devine chipped in with eight points, while Bechler added six points…Ben Sosa and Elijah Vazquez each had 16 points to pace the Wildcats.
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 13-0 all-time against Penn College…The Chargers are 6-2 at home this season…The 13 made 3-pointers are a season-high, and the third time this season the Chargers have had double-digit 3-pointers in a contest…Lancaster Bible's eight turnovers are also a season low…This is Lancaster Bible's second three-game win streak of the season…Beers' previous career high for points was 17 which he did twice, the most recent time coming on Feb. 13, 2019 at Gallaudet…Beers had made six 3-pointers coming into Wednesday's game, and drained four against the Wildcats…The Chargers went 7-3 in January.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible travels to Reading, Pa. to face Penn St. Berks on Saturday at 1 p.m.