The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team advanced to the North Eastern Athletic Conference Final for the sixth time in seven seasons on Friday night, defeating SUNY Poly, 79-75 in Middletown, Pa. The Chargers lost to the Wildcats by 27 points just seven days ago, and regrouped to win the NEAC Semifinal battle.
 
Lancaster Bible improves to 14-13 this season with the victory, while the Wildcats end their 2019-20 campaign with a record of 16-10. The win also avenges last season's 67-64 loss in the NEAC Semifinals to SUNY Poly.
 
How it Happened: SUNY Poly led 4-0 just over a minute into the contest, but a 3-pointer from Jordan Shewbridge and a layup from William Afoakwah tied the game at 7-7 with just over 16 minutes left in the half. The teams traded baskets from there, and Tyler Norris' 3-pointer with 9:26 remaining knotted the game at 18-18.
 
Free throws from Shewbridge less than a minute later gave the Chargers their first lead, and Afoakwah extended it to 25-21 a few moments later with another layup. SUNY Poly drew even with just under two minutes remaining in the half, and eventually built a 40-33 lead heading into the break, as Lancaster Bible mustered just two points in the final 3:23 of the half.
 
SUNY Poly scored on its first possession of the second half, but Lancaster Bible owned the opening part of the second half from that point, as the Chargers used an 11-0 run to take a 44-42 lead just three minutes into the second frame. Four players scored during the run, including the brothers Ethan and Britton Beachy, while Luke Beers capped the run with a three-point play.
 
The Chargers gave up the lead a minute later, and trailed 51-48 with 14:12 to play, but Lancaster Bible used another big scoring stretch, this one a 10-2 run, to build a 58-53 lead on a 3-pointer from Kaleb Murry. Beers extended the lead to 63-55 with 8:34 to play, and he gave the Chargers a 70-61 advantage with yet another 3-pointer with 5:25 remaining.
 
SUNY Poly made things interesting at the end, cutting the Chargers' lead to 76-73, but a huge layup from Shewbridge as he was getting fouled with 13 seconds to play sealed the win for the Chargers, and Shewbridge hitting the adjoining free throw helped the Lancaster Bible faithful who made the trip start the party in the stands.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 47.5 percent (28-of-59) from the field, though just 5-of-17 from 3-point range…The Chargers did shoot a solid 18-of-22 from the free throw line…SUNY Poly shot 49 percent (25-of-51) from the floor, but just 4-of-11 from beyond the arc…The Wildcats were 21-of-27 from the charity stripe…Lancaster Bible led 29-18 in points off of turnovers…Afoakwah finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Shewbridge had 19 points, eight assists, and six steals…Beers was the final player in double figures with 15 points, and he also added a rebound and steal…Britton Beachy had six points, four assists, and two steals…Kaleb Murry added nine points and to boards…Kievonn Banks and Averi Parker each had 15 points to pace the Wildcats.
 
The Coach Says: "I loved our effort tonight, especially when compared to our effort last week against SUNY Poly," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Jon Mack said. "After looking at everything from last week, we thought we put together a good game plan of getting Poly to play in half-court sets, and if we could limit our turnovers, we thought we had a good chance. We used ball screens very well tonight, and did a good job of hitting the roller to the basket."
 
On the team's leadership: "Our leadership of Luke Beers, Tyler Norris, and Britton Beachy really helped this team recover not only over the past week, but since we started the season 2-7," Mack said. "Lots of locker rooms would have quit at that point, but we have high-character guys in this locker room, and they didn't fold."
 
On Saturday's NEAC Final: "Whoever our opponent is will be a tough game," Mack said. "We will prepare as well as we can as a coaching staff tonight, and get the guys ready as much as possible in the morning. We are excited for the chance to play in a conference final, and look forward to the challenge."
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 7-5 all-time against SUNY Poly…The Wildcats had won two straight games in the series, including an 80-53 victory over Lancaster Bible during the regular season this year…The Chargers now own a 5-10 mark away from Horst Athletic Center this season…Lancaster Bible is now 10-4 all-time in the NEAC Playoffs…Saturday will mark the team's sixth appearance in the NEAC Final, and the Chargers are 2-3 in their previous appearances in the championship game…Shewbridge's 19 points give him 808 for his collegiate career.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible will face the winner of the other NEAC Semifinal, featuring host Penn St. Harrisburg and Morrisville State…Saturday's NEAC Final is set to tip-off at 2 p.m.