The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team battled to the final seconds of its opening game of the NCCAA Division I National Tournament on Wednesday evening, but couldn't complete the improbable comeback, as the fifth-seeded Chargers lost to fourth-seeded Northwestern (Minn.), 67-65 in Winona Lake, Ind. The Chargers are now 11-4 this season, while the Eagles improved to 15-3.
 
Lancaster Bible still has a chance to earn as best as a fifth place finish at the eight-team tournament, and will play SAGU American Indian College (Ariz.) on Thursday afternoon. The Eagles meanwhile, advance to the semifinal round, and will battle top-seeded Grace on Thursday night.
 
How it Happened: Lancaster Bible jumped out to a 6-0 lead over the first 1:20 of the contest thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Jordan Shewbridge and Tyler Norris. Northwestern (Minn.) answered with a 3-pointer of its own, but a bucket and adjoining free throw from Adam Stoltzfus restored the Chargers' six-point lead at 9-3. Grant Sareyka netted his first bucket of the night 3:44 into the half to give Lancaster Bible an 11-7 advantage, but the Chargers would go cold following Sareyka's basket.
 
Northwestern (Minn.) scored the game's next eight points to take a 15-11 lead, but Britton Beachy broke Lancaster Bible's cold streak with a basket to make it 15-13 with 13:45 remaining in the half. The Chargers regained the lead, 16-15, just over a minute later thanks to a bucket from Ethan Beachy, and trailed just 20-19 midway through the opening half.
 
Lancaster Bible's offense went cold again, and didn't score for nearly five minutes, though Northwestern (Minn.) didn't pull away either, and led 26-21 with 5:23 play after a basket from Shewbridge finally got the Chargers back on the scoreboard. The good feeling was short-lived however, as the Chargers wouldn't score again in the first half, and trailed, 30-21 after 20 minutes of play.
 
The Eagles extended their lead to 11 just 2:32 into the second half, as Kyle Kaemingk scored a basket and added the free throw to give Northwestern (Minn.) a 37-26 lead. The teams exchanged baskets over the first 10 minutes of the second half, but the Chargers finally closed the gap to seven points, 43-36, after a pair of free throws from Ethan Beachy. After a basket from the Eagles, senior Tyler Hilton drained a 3-pointer, and the Chargers trailed just 45-39 with 9:40 to play.
 
Northwestern (Minn.) didn't waver however, and scored the next five points to build a 50-39 lead with 8:54 remaining. The teams went back to trading buckets, and Northwestern (Minn.) led 62-50 after Jacob Masek's basket with 3:59 remaining.
 
Lancaster Bible wouldn't go quietly however, as a bucket from Seth Beers, followed by two free throws from Andrew Zentner cut the Chargers deficit to 62-54 with 2:48 to play. Sareyka made it a 62-56 game just 12 seconds later, but the Eagles rebuilt their nine-point lead, 65-56, after a basket from Caleb Waldeck with 1:41 remaining.
 
Beers and Sareyka sandwiched baskets around a Northwestern (Minn.) turnover with under a minute to play, and a pair of free throws from Sareyka made it a one possession game, 65-62, with 18 seconds left to play. Lancaster Bible fouled Northwestern (Minn.), and Noah Alm hit both free throws, but Shewbridge drained a 3-pointer with four seconds left to bring the Chargers to within two at 67-65. Northwestern (Minn.) was able to run out the clock on the in-bound pass, and the Chargers comeback fell just short.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the field, but just 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from 3-point range, and 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from the free throw line…Northwestern (Minn.) shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the floor, but just 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from beyond the arc…Lancaster Bible held a 40-37 edge in rebounds, but turned the ball over 18 times to the Eagles' 14…Lancaster Bible's bench was superb again, and outscored the Eagles, 34-14…Sareyka led the Chargers with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting…Shewbridge finished with 11 points, while Zentner had eight points, six rebounds, and a steal…Adam Stoltzfus had another strong game with five points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks…Ethan Beachy chipped in with four points and five boards, while Beers had six points, four boards, and three assists…Kaemingk led three Northwestern (Minn.) players in double figures with 17 points and grabbed nine boards.
 
News & Notes: Wednesday marked the first-ever contest between the two schools…Wednesday was also Lancaster Bible's first NCCAA National Tournament contest since the Chargers won the NCCAA Division II Championship to conclude the 2014-15 season…Lancaster Bible is now 1-1 in neutral site contests this season…The 21 first half points were a season-low for the Chargers…Wednesday marked the second time in three games that Sareyka has led the Chargers in scoring…The win was number 400 for Northwestern (Minn.) Head Coach Tim Grosz.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible will face the tournament's eighth seed, SAGU American Indian College (Ariz.) on Thursday afternoon at 5:15 p.m.