The Lancaster Bible men's basketball team dropped their second non-conference matchup of the season against the Bridgewater College Eagles, 56-59. The Chargers close out the Bridgewater College Tip-Off Classic 1-1 with a win over Eastern Mennonite on Friday night. The Eagles move to 2-1 overall.
 
How It Happened: The Eagles took advantage of the Chargers rocky start rushing out to a 13-2 lead. The Chargers would battle back scoring fifteen points in the last 10 minutes of the half getting within one of the Eagles, but the Eagles kept their lead through halftime. Junior Isaiah Mitchell created some momentum for the Chargers that would translate into the second half when he hit a long range three with just a few seconds left ending the first half down one, 26-25.
 
The Chargers gained the lead for the first time just a minute into the second half behind a layup from Adam Stoltzfus and junior Seth Beers converting an and-1. The Chargers led 31-28 just two minutes into the second half. The Chargers' defense responded as well, forcing several defensive stops and limiting the Eagles to only three points in the first ten minutes of the second half. A layup from Isaiah Mitchell with 11:45 left gave the Chargers their largest lead of the game, 40-29, and seemed to take all the air out of the Eagles.
 
Following the layup and an Eagles timeout, the Eagles offense came out to hit three three-point fields goals in a row, putting the Charger lead to only two points. At the eight-minute mark an Eagles' layup tied the game at 42 all and another three-point field goal gave the Eagles' their first lead of the second half, 45-43. The Chargers kept the deficit within one until Sareyka was fouled on a fastbreak layup to put both free throws in and give the Chargers a 56-55 lead with 2:18 left. It wouldn't be long until an Eagles' jumper put the Eagles' back up by one point. A Charger layup barely missed resulting in a last ditch foul and two free throws for the Eagles extending the lead to 59-56. The final play for the Chargers came up short and the Eagles walked away with the win 59-56.
 
From the Coach: "Tonight was a tough loss for us.  I thought we were inconsistent with our focus on the details, especially in the first and last 5 minutes of the game.  We did a poor job of winning those segments which eventually led to the loss.
 
I was encouraged by our response after our start.  I thought we settled in and got back to the game plan.  We did a good job converting off their turnovers and creating some good looks on the offensive end.  We just need to start making shots we are very capable of making to complement our defense.
 
Overall, it was a good weekend of learning and growing as we journey through our tough non-conference schedule." – Head Coach Jon Mack
 
By the Numbers: The Chargers shot 36.8% (21-57) from the field and 36.4% (8-22) from three-point land… the Chargers forced 16 turnovers and scored 21 points off those turnovers… junior guard Seth Beers led the Chargers with 15 points and grabbed four rebounds… senior Adam Stoltzfus tallied his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds… Grant Sareyka and Jordan Shewbridge contributed nine and six points respectively… Alec Topper led the Eagles with 17 points.
 
Information to Know: This was only the third matchup with the Bridgewater Eagles in program history with the other two contests coming in 2005 and 2006, both of which the Chargers lost.
 
Up Next: The Chargers will stay on the road next week for another non-conference competition against an athletic Eastern University team on Thursday, November 17^th at 7 p.m.