The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball kept on rolling Tuesday night, as the Chargers defeated Moravian, 67-57 at Horst Athletic Center in what can only be described as an ugly victory. The teams combined for 42 fouls in a choppy game, but nevertheless, the Chargers improved to 5-2 overall this season, while the Greyhounds dropped to 1-8.
 
How it Happened: Lancaster Bible opened the contest on a 7-0 run, and scored on three of its first five possessions, including a 3-pointer from junior Jordan Shewbridge that made it 5-0. Another triple from Shewbridge made it 10-3 just 2:11 into the contest, but it would be almost six minutes until the Chargers scored another bucket, as Shewbridge's layup with 11:58 to play in the half gave Lancaster Bible a 15-11 lead.
 
The advantage grew to 19-11 after a jumper from sophomore Adam Stoltzfus, but another cold spell followed, and Lancaster Bible would go almost five minutes without a bucket. Freshman Seth Beers broke the streak with a layup to make it 22-17 with just over six minutes remaining in the half. Moravian continued to chip away at the Chargers' lead, and finally tied the game at 24-24 on a jumper from Matt O'Connor with 2:37 left.
 
Freshman Andrew Zentner scored the final four points of the half for Lancaster Bible, but two late free throws from Moravian cut the Chargers' lead to 30-26 at the break.
 
Moravian's Keith Otto scored the team's first seven points of the second half, and his 3-pointer 2:37 into the frame gave the Greyhounds their first lead at 33-32. After the teams exchanged points, sophomore Ethan Beachy converted a layup followed by a 3-pointer from Shewbridge that gave Lancaster Bible a 39-35 lead five minutes into the half.
 
The game grinded to a halt with foul-after-foul being called, but two free throws from Stoltzfus with 10:42 left to play tied the game at 46-46. The teams continued to battle back-and-forth, but Lancaster Bible's defense slowly began to take over, and though the Chargers' offense struggled to keep up with the defense, their efforts eventually paid off with just over six minutes to play, as Shewbridge hit a jumper in the paint, and then connected for a 3-pointer to give Lancaster Bible a 58-53 lead with 5:22 left.
 
The Greyhounds made free throws to stay in the game for a short time, but another triple from Shewbridge, followed by a layup from freshman Seth Beers with 3:40 to play gave Lancaster Bible a 63-55 lead they wouldn't relinquish. Lancaster Bible's defense continued to clamp down, and did not allow the Greyhounds to score a basket in the final 11:05 of the contest.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible show 38.2 percent (21-of-55) from the field, including 30.4 percent (7-of-23) from 3-point range…The Chargers were 18-of-26 from the free throw line…Moravian shot 30 percent (18-fo-60) from the field, including 24.1 percent (7-of-29) from beyond the arc…The Greyhounds were 14-of-19 from the free throw line…Moravian was 0-for-12 over the final 11:05 of the game…Shewbridge led all scorers with 28 points, and also added three rebounds and three steals…Beers finished with 11 points and four rebounds…Zentner had eight points and 10 boards, while Stoltzfus added five points and eight rebounds…Britton Beachy had six points, five assists, and three rebounds…Otto had 20 points and five boards to lead the Greyhounds.
 
The Coach Says: "Our saving grace is or defense, and that foundation gave us a chance tonight," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Jon Mack said. "We finally stopped settling for looks on the offense end late in the second half, and I thought Ethan Beachy helped with that, as did [Jordan] Shewbridge and Seth [Beers]."
 
On the first half: "We got outworked on the glass in the first half, especially on the offensive glass, and I thought we rushed ourselves too much offensively," Mack explained. "We were good in the half-court defense, but would turn it right back over after we made a stop."
 
On the second half: "We did better on the boards in the second half, and really limited their chances," Mack said. "Adam Stoltzfus did a good job telling our guys to wait for the ball screens on the offensive end, and I thought that opened some things up for us, and allowed us to get downhill looks towards the basket."
 
On winning ugly: "You have to be versatile to win games, and have to adjust to each game and the way it is playing out," Mack said. "It took us a little while to do that tonight, but we did it eventually, and I like that we can win ugly."
 
News & Notes: This was the first-ever matchup between the two teams…Shewbridge now stands at 969 career points, and is averaging 18.7 points per game this season…Shewbridge has 20 or more points in all five of Lancaster Bible's wins…In two nights, Moravian's Keith Otto has 50 points, as he went for 30 in Monday's win over Cairn, and had 20 more on Tuesday night…Beers has scored in double figures in four of seven games this season…The Chargers are shooting 74.8 percent (113-of-151) from the free throw line this season.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible heads to Bryn Athyn, Pa. this weekend for a pair of games with Bryn Athyn…The Chargers and Lions will face-off on Friday and Saturday at 5 p.m.