Lancaster Bible 78, Penn College 73

Penn College Starters
Luxama, Sulesky, Jackowsky, White & Coyne
 
LBC Starters
Seth Beers, Tyler Hilton, Grant Sareyka, Jordan Shewbridge & Adam Stoltzfus
 
How It Happened
The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team defeated Penn College in a back-and-forth battle by a score of 78-73 on Tuesday, February 15.
 
The Chargers (18-6 Overall, 14-1 United East) got on the board when Grant Sareyka found an open Jordan Shewbridge for a 3-pointer. This basket moved Shewbridge into third on the all-time scoring list, passing Chris Readinger. Penn College (5-17 Overall, 5-1 United East) built an early lead, taking an 8-4 advantage just under three minutes into the game. The Chargers answered back, going on a 7-0 run capped off by a layup from Maureon Tisdale-Couch that put LBC ahead 11-8. After a 6-0 run by the Wildcats put Penn College ahead by three points, Shewbridge started the Chargers response, drilling his second 3-pointer of the game. Adam Stoltzfus connected on a jumper, and then Sareyka swished a 3-pointer giving LBC a 20-14 lead. Later in the half, Tyler Hilton nailed his first 3-pointer of the game, putting the Chargers ahead by seven. Penn College battled back eventually grabbing a one-point lead with 1:27 remaining in the first half. Tisdale-Couch finished another layup, putting LBC back in front. Seth Beers closed the quarter by connecting from beyond the arc, giving LBC a 32-30 lead at the break.
 
Sareyka got the second half scoring started for the Chargers, driving to the paint for a layup. Stoltzfus quickly put another layup in, making the score 36-32. After four straight points from the Wildcats tied the game at 36, Shewbridge connected on his third 3-pointer, giving LBC a three-point lead. Penn College answered with a 3-pointer of their own to tie the game at 39. Stoltzfus then completed a three-point play to make the score 42-39. Penn College kept fighting back, eventually surging in front taking a two-point lead. Ethan Beachy tied the game at 46 with a layup set up by a pass from Andrew Zentner. Penn College responded going on a 7-2 run to take a five-point lead. The Chargers struggled to regain the momentum, trailing by nine points midway through the half. Seth Beers tried to jump start the offense, slashing to the rim for a layup. Shewbridge cut the deficit down to six, drilling another 3-pointer. After a pair of free throws by Stoltzfus, Tisdale-Couch converted back-to-back layups to tie the score at 63. Shewbridge found a cutting Tisdale-Couch for another layup, putting LBC ahead by two. After Penn College hit a 3-pointer to retake the lead, Shewbridge finished a layup to put LBC up 67-66. The Wildcats continued to fight back, retaking a 71-70 lead. Beachy found Sareyka for a clutch 3-pointer giving LBC a two-point lead. Beachy then extended the lead to four by hitting a pair of free throws. After Penn College cut the lead to two, Beachy swished a 3-pointer, giving LBC a commanding 78-73 lead. The Chargers held on for the five-point victory.
 
Inside the Numbers
- Jordan Shewbridge led the Chargers' attack, scoring 19 points by hitting four 3-pointers
- Grant Sareyka recorded 18 points and dished a team-high 18 points
- Maureon Tisdale-Couch scored 10 key points off the bench, shooting 5-8 from the field
- Adam Stoltzfus filled the stat sheet, scoring nine points and pulling in 16 rebounds
- Penn College was led by Chris Coyne, who scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds
- LBC capitalized on Penn College's mistakes scoring 18 points off turnovers
 
Coaching Points
"I thought Penn College played well today and made us earn everything," said head coach Jon Mack. "We really had to earn this victory.  I thought we lost our identity for the majority of the game and let adversity become an enemy.  But in the last 10 minutes we embraced adversity and found our identity on both ends. I thought Ethan and Maureon were outstanding and changed the game for us. Their multiple winning plays in the last five minutes was the shot in the arm we needed and our team responded in a major way. I am proud of our resilience and finding a way to win.  This is the time of the season where games will need to be earned and the margin for error becomes slim.  We look forward to wrapping up the regular season and competing for a conference regular season championship on Saturday."
 
Historical Note
Jordan Shewbridge continued his climb through LBC's record books, passing Chris Readinger (1990-94) for 3rd place on the All-Time Scoring List. Shewbridge now has 1,593 points.
 
Who's Next
The men's basketball team will host Penn St. Harrisburg in the team's regular season finale on Saturday, February 19 at 6:00 p.m. The game will also serve as Senior Day. 
 
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