Lancaster Bible 98, Elizabethtown 91   
 
Elizabethtown Starters
Herbert, Robinson, Fitzpatrick, Russo & Rappa
 
LBC Starters
Seth Beers, Tyler Hilton, Grant Sareyka, Jordan Shewbridge & Adam Stoltzfus
 
How It Happened
The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team took down Elizabethtown College to open play in 2022, winning by a score of 98-91 on Tuesday, January 4.
 
Right from the start, the game was played at a fast pace, with both teams looking to create scoring opportunities on the break. Elizabethtown (5-6 Overall, 0-1 Landmark) took a 17-10 lead five minutes into the game. The Chargers (6-5 Overall, 2-0 United East) turned to Grant Sareyka, who stormed to the basket for a layup. Sareyka scored 15 of his 24 points in the first half. After Sareyka drained a 3-pointer, Jordan Shewbridge scored a layup in transition to tie the game at 17. Later in the quarter, Sareyka knocked down his second 3-pointer of the half, giving LBC a 22-21 lead. The teams would trade the lead back-and-forth with Tyler Hilton swishing a 3-pointer to tie the game at 27. Elizabethtown would fight back, going on a 6-0 run to retake control of the game. The Chargers clawed back into the game with Adam Stoltzfus hitting a pair of free throws to put LBC ahead 40-39. Stoltzfus was dominant in the paint, scoring 20 points and hauling in 17 rebounds. With under a minute remaining in the half, Shewbridge finished a layup in transition to put the Chargers up by two. Stoltzfus closed the half by connecting on a jump shot, giving LBC a 51-48 lead at the break.
 
Elizabethtown jumped out to a seven-point lead five minutes into the second half. LBC answered back with a 9-0 run to retake the lead, powered by a pair of layups from Shewbridge. Having captured momentum, LBC stretched the lead to five thanks to a layup by Stoltzfus. Later in the half, Maureon Tisdale-Couch stole the ball and finished a layup in transition to put LBC ahead by 10. The Chargers would extend the lead to as many as 13 points, but Elizabethtown would not go away. The Blue Jays battled back, closing within four points, but the Chargers ended the run with some clutch free throw shooting. LBC closed out the game, picking up the 98-91 victory.  
 
Inside The Numbers
- The Chargers were led in scoring by Jordan Shewbridge who scored 27 points, connecting three times from beyond the arc
- Grant Sareyka recorded 24 points, draining three 3-pointers
- Adam Stoltzfus was a force in the paint, scoring 20 points and hauling in 17 rebounds
- Tyler Hilton scored 14 points as well as 8 rebounds
- The Chargers offense was effective, holding a 21-8 assist-to-turnover ratio
- Elizabethtown was led in scoring by Rance Russo who scored 31 points
- LBC won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Blue Jays 46-44
 
Coaching Points
"Overall, I think we had 22 stops and 25 points off those stops in the second half," said head coach Jon Mack. "We struggled to get those stops in the first half and that was the difference. We had good 7-minute stretch where we played really good complimentary basketball, getting stops and converting those stops into points. I thought Maureon and Jakari played some good unsung hero minutes for us which was huge. Adam was a force in the paint, scoring 20 points and pulling in 17 rebounds."
 
Who's Next
The men's basketball team will return home to United East play, hosting Penn College on Saturday, January 8 at 1:00 p.m.
 
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