The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team won its fourth straight game on Saturday afternoon, defeating Penn St. Berks, 75-69 in Reading, Pa. The win moves the Chargers to the .500 mark for the first time this season, as Lancaster Bible is now 9-9 overall and 7-2 in North Eastern Athletic Conference play. The Nittany Lions are now 2-15 overall and 2-7 in conference play.
 
How it Happened: Penn St. Berks held an early lead, before the Chargers tied it at 9-9, but a quick 5-0 run gave the Nittany Lions a 14-9 advantage with 12:40 remaining in the opening half. Penn St. Berks continued to control play, and took a 23-11 lead on a 3-pointer from Steve Luchansky with 9:08 left in the first half.
 
The Chargers finally woke up on the offensive end and embarked on a 17-2 run over the next eight minutes, as Kobe Devine's free throws capped the run with 2:29 remaining. Six different players scored during the run, including Jordan Shewbridge who had four points, and William Afoakwah who had three.
 
After leading 30-27 at halftime, Lancaster Bible used a 15-5 run over the first six minutes of the second half to blow the game open. Britton Beachy had five points during the run to open the second half, and Tyler Norris added a bucket as well.
 
The Chargers led by ten, 59-49 with 4:30 to play after a layup from Luke Beers, but Penn St. Berks kept clawing back and trimmed the deficit to 63-58 with 2:23 remaining. It was a four-point game with under two minutes to play, but after two free throws from Beachy, Lancaster Bible got a turnover, and Beers converted two free throws for a 68-60 lead. Penn St. Berks kept it close the rest of the way, but Lancaster Bible held off the late charge.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 46.5 percent (26-of-57) from the field, but just 1-of-10 from 3-point range…The Chargers were 22-of-32 from the free throw line…Penn St. Berks shot 43.9 percent (25-of-57)  from the floor, and was 11-of-24 from 3-point range…The Chargers held a 37-31 edge in rebounds…Afoakwah led four players in double figures with 17 points, and also added 18 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive glass…Shewbridge had 12 points and four boards, while Beers added 12 points and two steals…Beachy was the final player in double digits with 11, as he added three steals and three assists…Devine finished with seven points and three assists as well…Xavier Rodriguez had a game-high 19 points for Penn St. Berks.
 
The Coach Says: "I thought we settled for shots early and turned the ball over too much, but did a better job over the final 10 minutes of the first half, and got stops, and made it difficult for Penn St. Berks to score, and then turned that into offense for us," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Jon Mack said. "I thought we controlled much of the second half, and played intelligently for much of the half as well, and I really liked that we only turned the ball over 13 times.
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 17-6 all-time against Penn St. Berks, and have won the past six contests between the two teams…Lancaster Bible defeated Penn St. Berks, 82-68 on Jan. 15 at Horst Athletic Center…The Chargers have won seven of their past eight games…Afoakwah's double-double is his third of the season and the second in his past four games.
 
Up Next: Saturday's win helps set up a NEAC South Division showdown on Wednesday, as the second place Chargers host first place Penn St. Harrisburg at 5:30 p.m.