The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team won its sixth straight game on Monday night, as the Chargers powered past, and then held off Cairn, 74-72 in Langhorne, Pa. The victory sends the Chargers to 8-2 this season, while the Highlanders dropped to 6-3.
 
How it Happened: Lancaster Bible struggled offensively in the early going, as Tyler Hilton's layup with 13:48 remaining in the first half cut the Chargers' deficit to 9-6. Cairn would eventually build the lead to 14-6, but a layup from Britton Beachy and two free throws from Andrew Zentner trimmed the deficit to four for Lancaster Bible.
 
The Highlanders answered again however, and after a three-point play from Tehron Phillips, the home team led, 19-10 with 10:32 remaining in the half. Lancaster Bible's offense finally woke up, and the Chargers used a 10-0 run to take a 20-19 lead with 6:42 to play in the half. Jordan Shewbridge and Zentner each had four points during the scoring run, while Kobe Devine added a bucket as well.
 
Shewbridge and Zentner were back at it again a few moments later, and Shewbridge's 3-pointer with 2:42 to play in the half gave the Chargers a 31-26 advantage. The teams traded buckets over the final two minutes, and Tyler Norris' jumper with four seconds to play gave Lancaster Bible a 38-35 lead heading into halftime.
 
After trading buckets early in the second half, Lancaster Bible used a 9-2 run, capped by Zentner's three-point play, to build a 50-41 advantage. Cairn eventually trimmed its deficit to three, but five straight points from freshman Seth Beers restored Lancaster Bible's eight-point edge at 57-49 with 9:49 to play. Lancaster Bible increased the lead to double digits with 7:09 to play, as Shewbridge drained a 3-pointer.
 
The Chargers' lead remained comfortable for a few minutes, but Cairn began to chip away at its deficit, and a layup from Kameron Clark trimmed Lancaster Bible's lead to 66-65 with 3:10 remaining. The Chargers clamped down defensively and kept the lead, but free throws from Clark with 1:32 to play knotted the score at 68-68.
 
Beers drained a 3-pointer on Lancaster Bible's next possession, but Cairn answered with a layup from Clark, and the Chargers' lead was back down to one with 51 seconds to play. After a miss on Lancaster Bible's next possession, they earned the rebound, and after a timeout, Shewbridge drove the lane toward the basket, and kicked the ball out to a wide open Ethan Beachy who drained a 3-pointer and put the game away.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 41.9 percent (26-of-62) from the field, including 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from 3-point range…Lancaster Bible also continued its strong work from the free throw line with a 14-of-15 night…Cairn shot 40.3 percent (25-of-62) from the floor, but just 20 percent (4-of-20) from beyond the arc…Both teams had 36 rebounds on Monday night, while the Lancaster Bible bench outscored Cairn, 40-21…Shewbridge led all scorers with 22 points, and also had five rebounds…Zentner added 15 points and six boards, while Beers was the third and final player in double figures with 12 points, and also had a team-best four assists…Ethan Beachy finished with eight points and five boards…Josh Forker had 20 points to lead Cairn.
 
The Coach Says: "We have a bunch of winners on this team," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Jon Mack said. "We didn't get rattled tonight, and watching the guys grow and be able to execute down the stretch, it is just awesome."
 
On Ethan Beachy's 3-pointer to put the game away: "We ran Shewbridge as a decoy, and he got so far down into the lane that I thought maybe he was going to go up with it," Mack explained. "But he made a great pass and put it right in Beachy's hands, and he was so wide open. He knocked it down, and it was just a well-executed play, and showed so much about the growth of our team."
 
On the team's play in the second half: "We got into some foul trouble and had to play small late in the game, but guys like Ethan Beachy and Tyler Norris showed grit and played tough," Mack said. "After a slow start, I thought we got things to click, and played solid basketball."
 
News & Notes: Monday marked the 92^nd all-time meeting between the two teams…Lancaster Bible is now 31-61 all-time against Cairn…The Chargers finished the regular season with a 5-1 mark on the road…Lancaster Bible's 93.3 percent mark from the free throw line is a season-high…Over the past three games, the Chargers are 39-of-44 (88.6 percent) from the free throw line…Shewbridge now has 20 or more points in seven of Lancaster Bible's 10 games this season.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible returns home on Wednesday night, as the Chargers host Mount Aloysius at 6 p.m…The game can be seen on the Chargers Sports Network.