The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team capped its regular season with a convincing 96-58 victory over Bryn Athyn on Senior Night at Horst Athletic Center. Lancaster Bible is now 10-2 this season, while the Lions dropped to 0-4. The Chargers will now head to the NCCAA Div. I Midwest Region Playoffs and take on Concordia (Mich.) on Thursday at Grace (Ind.) in Winona Lake, Ind.
 
How it Happened: Lancaster Bible and Bryn Athyn matched buckets early in the first half, as a layup from Tyler Hilton followed by a 3-pointer from Jordan Shewbridge gave the Chargers an early 8-5 lead. A layup from Andrew Zentner on one possession, followed by a dunk on the next gave Lancaster Bible a 12-8 lead.
 
Zentner scored his eighth straight point a few minutes later to give the Chargers a 16-11 lead, and Seth Beers stretched it to 19-11 with a triple less than a minute later. Lancaster Bible led by 10 before a Bryn Athyn bucket, but Ty Erisman's 3-pointer with 11:26 to play sent Lancaster Bible to a 24-13 advantage.
 
The teams exchanged buckets again for few possessions, but four straight free throws from Tyler Norris and Zentner gave the Chargers a 33-18 with just over eight minutes to play in the frame. The Lions stayed in the game for most of the remaining time of the first half, but four late points by Lancaster Bible, capped by a dunk from Zentner with one second to play, gave the Chargers a 48-32 advantage at halftime.
 
The Chargers were off and running early in the second half, as Ethan Beachy converted a layup in transition to give Lancaster Bible its first 20+ point lead at 54-33. A 3-pointer from Beachy stretched the advantage to 23 points a few moments later, and Zentner had yet another dunk with 15:06 to play to make it 63-36 in favor of the Chargers.
 
Shewbridge drained a triple with 9:10 left to give Lancaster Bible a 74-44 lead, and the Chargers would eventually lead by as many as 40 on two different occasions late in the half, as Erisman and Caleb Carpenter had buckets for the Chargers.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 52.4 percent (33-of-63) from the field, including 39.1 percent (9-of-23) from 3-point range…The Chargers were also 21-of-26 from the free throw line…Bryn Athyn shot 32.1 percent (18-of-56) from the floor, but just 20.7 percent (6-of-29) from beyond the arc, and 16-of-32 from the free throw line…Lancaster Bible dominated the boards with a 51-24 margin, and the Chargers also had 25 assists on 33 buckets…Zentner led all scorers with 26 points, and he also added 12 rebounds and two assists…Ethan Beachy recorded his first collegiate double-double with 10 point and 11 rebounds, and he also had three assists…Shewbridge finished with 15 points, six assists, and four boards, while Hilton was the final player in double figures with 10 points…Seth Beers added three points, three boards, and four assists, and Erisman had eight points on 3-of-3 shooting…Anthony Burr had nine points to lead Bryn Athyn.
 
The Coach Says: "We competed for all 40 minutes tonight, which is something we didn't do last Saturday at Bryn Athyn," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Jon Mack said. "We executed very well, though we had a few too many turnovers, but we were intentional with how we practiced this week, and I'm happy with the way we moved the ball and executed the game plan."
 
On the seniors: "I'm grateful for these three seniors, as well as Luke Beers, a senior from last year's team," Mack said. "They bought into our culture right away last season, and at times when things could've gone sideways last year, these guys were the ones who stood up for our culture, and because of them, our culture won, and we have been successful."
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 14-1 all-time against Bryn Athyn…The Chargers finished the regular season with a 5-1 record at Horst Athletic Center…Saturday marked the third time this season Lancaster Bible has had 20 or more assists in a game…Saturday was also the fourth time this year Lancaster Bible has had 30 or more made field goals in a game…Zentner's double-double was his second of the season, and his 26 points are a career-high...Prior to the game, Lancaster Bible honored seniors Tyler Hilton, Britton Beachy, Tyler Norris, and Hunter Gerber.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible will face NAIA member Concordia University (Mich.) in the NCCAA Div. I Midwest Region Playoffs on Thursday…The game will be played at Grace (Ind.) in Winona Lake, Ind. at a time to be determined.