The Lancaster Bible College Men's Basketball program begins its 51^st season of play Friday evening against Eastern Mennonite as part of the Bridgewater College Tip-Off Classic in Bridgewater, Va. The Chargers will take on the host Eagles the following day, as Lancaster Bible kicks off a season in which it hopes to bring high effort and high execution on a daily basis.
 
Lancaster Bible went 23-8 overall a year ago, including a 15-1 mark in United East Conference play. The Chargers advanced to the United East Final for the second consecutive season, but saw their dreams of a conference championship come crashing down thanks to Penn St. Harrisburg. Lancaster Bible rebounded and won the NCCAA Division I Midwest Region Championship, before making an impressive run to the NCCAA Division I National Championship Game where they lost to Baptist Bible (Mo.), 77-70.
 
The second-place finish at the NCCAA Div. I National Tournament is a tremendous accomplishment and one the Chargers are still proud of, but the team's focus for 2022-23 remains on the goal of competing consistently each night and getting better with each outing. The Chargers are deep and return lots of talent and experience, but the United East is also improved, and Lancaster Bible is set to play one of the toughest non-conference schedules in program history.
 
The Chargers were successful in 2021-22, but the team and coaches know there are areas of improvement and are looking forward to taking the first steps to another successful run in 2022-23. From the first workout, the team has focused its mindset on making sure their attitude and work ethic reflect the program's mission, and they compete every day.
 
2022-23 Season Preview
2021-22 Record: 23-8, 15-1 United East
 
2021-22 Postseason: W, 94-80 vs. Wells in United East Semifinals; L, 85-52 vs. Penn St. Harrisburg in United East Final; W, 78-75 vs. Geneva in NCCAA Division I Midwest Region Final; W, 81-75 vs. Asbury (Ky.) in NCCAA Div. I National Tournament First Round; W, 68-66 vs. Carolina Univ. in NCCAA Div. I National Semifinals; L, 77-70 vs. Baptist Bible (Mo.) in NCCAA Div. I National Championship
 
Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Jon Mack (Fourth Season (50-26 at Lancaster Bible), 23^rd Season Overall)
Assistant Coaches: Chris Cook (Fourth season), Jalen Archer (Lancaster Bible, '18 – Fourth Season)
Graduate Assistant Coach: Hunter Gerber (Lancaster Bible, '21 – Second Season)
 
Returners
Graduate Student: Jordan Shewbridge (G)
Seniors: Ethan Beachy (F), Ty Erisman (G), Adam Stoltzfus (F), Jackson Whitt (G)
Juniors: Seth Beers (G), Isaiah Mitchell (G), Jordan Praylow (G), Grant Sareyka (G), Andrew Zentner (F)
Sophomores: Bijan Hunter II (G), Tyshaun Pulley (G), Maureon Tisdale-Couch (F)
 
Newcomers
Graduate Student: Matt Ilodigwe (G; Lycoming College)
Freshmen: Nile Austin (G; Houston, Texas – Cyprus Christian), Jax Felder (G; Laurel, Md. – Chapelgate Christian), Luke Rumbaugh (G; Lancaster, Pa. – Conestoga Valley)
 
Program Notes
-Through 50 seasons of men's basketball at Lancaster Bible, the Chargers are 528-749 (.414), however over the past 12 seasons, the program is 203-129 (.611)
-Lancaster Bible will play 11 home games during the regular season in 2022-23 and 14 games away from Horst Athletic Center
-Last season, Lancaster Bible was 11-3 at home and 12-5 in all games away from HAC
-Since joining the United East Conference (formerly the North Eastern Athletic Conference) in 2011-12, Lancaster Bible has posted a 121-45 (.729) record in conference play, including a 15-1 conference mark last season
-Lancaster Bible has scored 90+ points in a game 175 times in program history, including nine times last season, the most since the 2015-16 squad scored 90+ points 20 times
-Graduate student Jordan Shewbridge enters the season with 1,736 career points, the third-most in program history…He is just 243 points away from program-leader Sam Rempel ('01) who scored 1,979 points…Shewbridge is also just 405 points behind the all-time leader in points scored in Lancaster Bible history, Aubrey (Folger, '16) Bird who amassed 2,141 career points
 
Three Questions for Lancaster Bible Head Coach Jon Mack
Question 1: There are big expectations for the team this season, where does this team rank in terms of expectations for you in your coaching career? To that end, how do you manage those expectations and prepare the team for a five-to-six-month grind?
JM: I think this is the first time since I was at Valley Forge from 2010-12 where the group returning has this type of skill and experience. It's great to have a bunch of third- and fourth-year guys, because we only have so much time to practice prior to the season. It's been so helpful to have seniors know what we are trying to accomplish and help our new guys along.
 
In terms of preparing for the grind of the season, we focus on competing consistently, which for us means high effort and high execution. We have to compete to get better, and regardless of the result, if we feel as though we have competed, then we've gotten better. With a returning group like this one, we believe competing consistently in practice and games is a reasonable expectation for the season, and the results will be based off of that.
 
Question 2: The non-conference schedule is perhaps one of the toughest we've ever had, what are you hoping to learn in the first few games, followed by the tournament at Randolph-Macon after Christmas?
 
JM: Our goal each year is to be over .500 in non-conference play, while at the same time trying to stretch ourselves. I think a good benchmark is being above .500, and we've done a decent job of that in years past. We have three or possibly four non-conference opponents that advanced to the NCAA Division III National Tournament last season, so we are certainly going to get a chance to see that level of basketball. That being said, it is up to us to then compete well in those games. Teams like Randolph-Macon are great and it's a terrific experience to play a team of that caliber, but we must show up and compete to make sure it can be something we can use to our advantage later in the season.
 
Question 3: The team is full of returners, but due to COVID and injuries the past two seasons, many of the juniors and seniors have only played one or two full seasons of college basketball. How has the team prepared to play a full season, but also be prepared to play its best basketball later in the season?
 
JM: The season is a journey and we have set goals for ourselves, but they are moving targets as the season goes along. Every chance we play, our aim is our mission. We want to reflect our mission, and while winning the United East Championship would be a great thing, it has to be a reflection of our mission, and not our sole goal.
 
We were ready to go for practice on October 15, and I think our Director of Strength & Conditioning Nick Wilson was a huge part of that. His philosophy and ours have lined up perfectly and he has had a great impact on our guys and how they have prepared for the year.
 
I think last season we may have tried to skip a few steps in the process of becoming a championship basketball team, both on and off the floor. We got exposed late in the season and realized as we reflected back that we can't skip steps. The goal can't be bigger than the aim.
 
2022-23 Team Resources
2022-23 Schedule
2022-23 Roster
Historical Program Statistics