Eastern 89, Lancaster Bible 80

Eastern Starters:
William Blet, Sam Gallardo, Draig Cooley, Kaeshawn Ward, Jaron Fairweather
 
LBC Starters:
Grant Sareyka, Tyler Hilton, Seth Beers, Jordan Shewbridge, Adam Stoltzfus
 
The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team (5-5; 2-0 United East), ran into a red hot Eastern squad (9-2 ; 3-0 MAC) Saturday afternoon at the Horst Athletic Center, dropping a hard fought contest by a score of 89-80.
 
How It Happened: 
Riding a seven game win streak, Eastern jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead before the Chargers got on the board with a Seth Beers layup two minutes in.  It was there the LBC defense took control of the game, holding the Eagles to just a single point over the next seven minutes while reeling off 15 points of their own, grabbing a 15-7 advantage with 11:16 to play in the half.  During that stretch, the Chargers defense held the Eagles to 0-8 from the field and turned them over five times, including a 10 second violation off a backcourt deflection from Jakari Wilkins.  TY Hilton picked up five points in the run.  Jordan Shewbridge, LBC"s leading scorer would find himself fighting foul trouble throughout the game and logged just seven minutes in the first half before settling on the bench with two fouls with 9:42 remaining.  With Shewbridge on the bench, the Eagles would claw their way back into the game with LBC clinging to a slim 25-24 advantage with just over four to play in the half.  Enter Seth Beers, who began asserting himself offensively scoring seven points in the closing minutes with a layup, a 3 point basket, a couple free throws and added an assist to push the lead to six before the Eagles would score just before the buzzer.  The Chargers would head to the locker room up 39-35.

The second half kicked off with a barrage of 3-point baskets from the Chargers over a two minute spurt that would stretch the Chargers lead to 13 with just under 15 minutes to play.  Shewbridge and Grant Sareyka each knocked a pair of long distance shots during that run.  The Eagles would answer the bell again chipping at the lead and pulling to within four before Maureon Tisdale-Couch pulled in one of his six offensive boards of the game and shoveled a no look pass to Beers for a layup that stretched the Charger lead back to six at 74-68 with six minutes remaining.  Eastern would eventually regain the lead for the first time since leading 6-4 early in the game, 75-74 on a layup from William Blet, but Hilton would answer with a big 3 just 20 seconds later.  After a couple of lead changes, the Eagles would take the lead for good with 2:49 to play.  A few turnovers down the stretch and clutch free throw shooting from the Eagles led to the 89-80 final. 

Inside The Numbers:

• Grant Sareyka led 4 Chargers in double figures with 18 points, including 4 FG beyond the arc.
• Seth Beers finished with 14 points, 5 assists, 4 boards, and a couple of steals
• Maureon Tisdale-Couch collected 6 offensive boards that led to 2 put-back baskets and an assist
• William Blet paced the Eagles with 28 points and 10 boards
• The Eagles held a 17 point advantage from the Free Throw line connecting on 25-37 with LBC finishing 8-15.
• The Chargers won the battle of the boards with a 43-38 advantage, but fell short in the points in the paint 38-46
• Meeting each other for the first time since the 2015 103-91 LBC victory, the Chargers drop to 2-6 all-time vs. Eastern

 
Coaching Points:
"I thought we defended well and took care of the ball in the first half despite being erratic offensively," said Head Coach Jon Mack.
"In the second half, I thought our defense took a major step down and we allowed them to get comfortable and run their offense through their big man.  We also struggled to defend without fouling, allowing them 25 points from the free throw line." 
"It was good to see two of our freshmen, Jakari and Maureon play well today on both ends of the floor," coach added.
 
Next Up: 
The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team returns to the court on Tuesday, January 4 as they welcome Elizabethtown College to the Horst Athletic Center for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.

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