The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team had to wait exactly 11 months between games, but it was worth wait for the Chargers, as they put on a show on both ends of the floor in a season-opening 99-86 victory over St. Mary's (Md.) at Horst Athletic Center on Friday night. The Chargers had five players score in double figures, and secured their fourth season-opening win over the past six seasons.
 
How it Happened: After a slow start over the first three minutes of the contest, the Chargers scored on five straight trips down the floor, as Ethan Beachy, Andrew Zentner, Tyler Hilton, and Grant Sareyka had buckets for Lancaster Bible. Sareyka's basket gave the Chargers a 13-4 lead, and Lancaster Bible stretched the lead to double digits, 21-11, on two free throws from Britton Beachy with 11:49 to play in the opening half.
 
St. Mary's (Md.) hung around all night long, and a 3-pointer from Olumide Lewis with 1:46 remaining in the first half cut the Seahawks' deficit to 33-30. The final 105 seconds of the first half belonged to the Chargers however, as they outscored St. Mary's (Md.), 13-4. Fantastic defense plays from Seth Beers, Adam Stoltzfus, and Sareyka were key to the scoring run, as the pair combined for eight of the 13 points, and the Chargers took a 46-34 lead into the break.
 
After being held to just three points in the first half, Lancaster Bible junior Jordan Shewbridge erupted in the second frame, as he scored five points in the first 1:39 of the second half, and Tyler Hilton added five points of his own, and the Chargers took a 56-37 lead on Hilton's triple with 17:33 remaining.
 
The lead grew to 22 on a dunk from Zenter a minute later, but again the Seahawks battled back and cut the Lancaster Bible lead to 66-55 with 13:04 to play. The game continued to feature scoring runs from each team, and the Chargers took their turn three minutes later, as a 3-pointer from Tyler Norris stretched the home team's lead to 76-59.
 
Daryn Alexander knocked down another 3-pointer for St. Mary's (Md.) with 6:21 to play and trimmed Lancaster Bible's lead to 82-74, but the Chargers converted four straight free throws on their next trip down the floor thanks to a technical foul, and led 86-74 with 5:34 to play. Shewbridge, who scored 19 points in the second half, drained a long 3-pointer with 4:04 to play and grew Lancaster Bible's lead to 93-76, and the Chargers never looked back.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 54 percent (34-of-63) from the field, including 40 percent (10-of-25) from 3-point range…Lancaster Bible was also 21-of-32 from the free throw line…St. Mary's (Md.) shot 48.4 percent (30-of-62) from the floor, and an impressive 55 percent (11-of-20) from beyond the arc…Shewbridge led five Lancaster Bible players in double figures with 22 points and also added five assists…Hilton had 16 points, while Stoltzfus had 12 points and 10 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double…Beers had 11 points, three assists, two blocks, and two steals in his first collegiate game, while fellow freshman Zentner had 11 points, six boards, and three blocks in his first game…Grant Sareyka chipped in with eight points, while Britton Beachy had six points and five assists, and his brother Ethan had eight points…The Seahawks Daryn Alexander had a game-high 23 points.
 
The Coach Says: "I really liked our tempo and pace," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Jon Mack said. "It works, and we have the bodies and personnel this season to do it. The rotations were strong tonight, and I like that we can be aggressive with the second unit, and there is scoring on each unit."
 
Mack also liked the team's play at the beginning and end of the first half. "We played well defensively at the beginning and end of the first half, and I really thought that was the difference," Mack said. "St. Mary's shot the ball well, but we were able to finish offensively as well, which is something we struggled with at times last season."
 
Mack said it was nice to see such balanced scoring as well. "We have more scorers and we were intentional about that in recruiting, but it was nice to see scoring from our returners too," Mack said.
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 1-2 all-time against St. Mary's (Md.) ...The Seahawks will be joining the North Eastern Athletic Conference next year…The 99 points scored were the most since the Chargers scored 102 in a victory over Penn St. Berks on Jan. 31, 2018…Lancaster Bible lost last season's opening game to Neumann, 85-74…Friday marked the 11^th time in Shewbridge's collegiate career he has scored 20 or more points in a game.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible is right back on the court Saturday afternoon, as the Chargers host Salisbury at 4 p.m.