The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team played an official game for the first time in 10 days on Tuesday night at St. Mary's (Md.), but no matter the designation, the Chargers continued their strong play, and pulled out a 65-60 victory over the host Seahawks. Lancaster Bible is now 2-1 overall this season, while St. Mary's (Md.) fell to 1-3.
 
How it Happened: The Chargers scored on two of their first three possessions on Tuesday night, and eventually took an 8-2 lead 2:42 into the contest on a layup from Adam Stoltzfus. The offense cooled a bit over the next few minutes, but a jumper from Seth Beers 5:22 into the game gave Lancaster Bible a 12-7 advantage, and the Chargers expanded their lead to 20-13 midway through the opening half thanks to a layup from Jordan Shewbridge.
 
Lancaster Bible ran its lead to 12 three minutes later, as a lightning-fast 9-0 run gave the visitors a 29-17 lead with 6:15 left in the half. Beers opened the run with a 3-pointer, followed by another from Shewbridge. Shewbridge then capped the run with a three-point play, as he converted a layup in transition off a pass from Beers.
 
Neither team played well offensively in the final minutes of the first half, but Lancaster Bible scored the final four points of the half, and Andrew Zentner's layup with 39 seconds left gave the Chargers a 33-24 advantage at the break.
 
The teams traded baskets over the first five minutes of the second half, but a 3-pointer from the Seahawks' Olumide Lewis with 14:43 to play cut the Chargers' lead to 37-34, and Cary Grant made it a one-point game just a minute later. Ethan Beachy knocked down a 3-pointer on Lancaster Bible's next possession, and Stoltzfus converted two free throws with 12:50 to play to restore the Chargers' six-point edge, 42-36.
 
After exchanging baskets for two minutes, Britton Beachy converted a layup to increase Lancaster Bible's lead to 51-42, and the game stayed that way for over three minutes, as each team struggled to get baskets to go in. Lancaster Bible regained its double-digit lead with just over five minutes remaining, and Beers bumped the advantage to 60-46 with 3:58 to go, as the Chargers began to pull away.
 
The Seahawks made one last run, and Olumide's 3-pointer with 48 seconds left capped a 10-0 run for the home team, and made it a four-point game, 60-56, but Lancaster Bible converted its free throws in the final 40 seconds, and earned the road victory.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 26-of-62 (41.9 percent) from the field, but just 5-of-28 (17.9 percent) from 3-point range…The Chargers were 8-of-12 (66.7 percent) from the free throw line…St. Mary's (Md.) shot 20-of-55 (36.4 percent) from the floor, including 4-of-16 (25 percent) from beyond the arc…The Seahawks shot just 16-of-28 (57.1 percent) from the free throw line…Lancaster Bible forced 19 turnovers…Shewbridge led the Chargers with 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals…Beers added 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, and had four assists as well…Stoltzfus was the third and final players in double figures with 10 points, and he also added 10 rebounds…Zentner had eight points and five rebounds, while Britton Beachy added four points, three boards, and two steals…Lewis led the Seahawks with 20 points.

The Coach Says: "I thought our defense carred us tonight, especially in the first half," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Jon Mack said. "We had our moments when the offense complimented our defense, but we had too many offensive stretches that lacked efficiency. I thought we made the offense more difficult than it required, and we are still finding our stride offensively. We have really good offensive weapons, but we are experiencing growing pains right now in the learning process."

More comments on the win: "Despite shooting poor from 3-point range, and only having three free throw attempts during the first 35 minutes of the game, our defense stayed the course and gave us a big road win against a very good team," Mack said. 
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 2-2 all-time against St. Mary's (Md.)…The Chargers defeated the Seahawks, 99-86 on Jan. 29 in Lancaster…Tuesday marked the first official road game of the season for the Chargers…Lancaster Bible was just 3-11 on the road last season, and 5-11 in all games away from Horst Athletic Center…Lancaster Bible's next three contests are on the road as well…Stoltzfus has two double-doubles in three games this season…Shewbridge has scored 20 or more points in a game 14 times during his collegiate career, including two times in three games this season.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible heads back to Maryland this weekend for back-to-back games with Salisbury on Friday night and Saturday afternoon…Friday's tip-off is set for 7 p.m., while Saturday's contest is set for 3 p.m.