United East Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinals
#1 Lancaster Bible College 94, #4 Wells 80
Wells College Starters
Rodriguez, McBride, Jal. Feliz, Jar. Feliz & Oduro-Dompreh
LBC Starters
Seth Beers,
Tyler Hilton,
Grant Sareyka,
Jordan Shewbridge &
Adam Stoltzfus
How It Happened
The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team has advanced to the United East Men's Basketball Championship Game by defeating #4 Wells College by a score of 94-80 on Friday, February 25.
The Chargers (20-6 Overall, 15-1 United East) grabbed an early lead when
Tyler Hilton finished a layup. Wells College (17-9 Overall, 11-5 United East) answered back, going on a 7-0 run to take a five-point lead.
Jordan Shewbridge and
Grant Sareyka went to the line, hitting four free throws to close back within three.
Seth Beers then drilled a 3-pointer from the wing to tie the game at nine. Shewbridge drew a foul on a 3-point attempt, going to the free throw line and hitting all three free throws to take a 12-9 lead. The teams traded baskets with Wells surging to a 19-18 lead with 11:12 remaining in the first half. Sareyka quickly put the Chargers pack in front, drilling a 3-pointer. He followed that up by hitting a 3-pointer on the break, putting the Chargers ahead 24-19. Hilton then scored a layup, capping off an 8-0 run. Wells battled back, tying the game 30 with 5:41 remaining in the half. After
Andrew Zentner hit a pair of free throws, Beers hit another 3-pointer putting LBC ahead 35-34. Hilton and Sareyka drilled back-to-back 3-pointers giving the Chargers a 43-38 advantage. Wells closed the half on a 5-0 run, tying the game at 43 going into the half.
The Chargers opened the second half on an 8-0 run highlighted by another 3-pointer from Sareyka.
Adam Stoltzfus hit a jumper putting the Chargers ahead by eight. Sareyka then put the Chargers ahead by 10, streaking down the floor for a layup.
Maureon Tisdale-Couch then completed a three-point play, giving LBC a 60-48 lead. Wells College fought back going on a 7-0 run to pull back within five points. Sareyka halted the run, knifing to the basket for a layup. Shewbridge then knocked down four consecutive free throws to put LBC ahead by 11 points. The Chargers surged ahead by 13-points, holding that lead late into the second half. Adam Stolzfus slammed down a dunk, putting an exclamation point on the 94-80 victory.
Inside the Numbers
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Grant Sareyka led the Chargers offensive attack, scoring 24 points while connecting on four 3-pointers
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Jordan Shewbridge battled foul trouble but scored 17 points, hitting 11 free throws
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Tyler Hilton scored 14 points, going 4-7 from the field
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Adam Stoltzfus posted 12 points and gathered in eight rebounds
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Seth Beers added eight points and dished eight assists
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Maureon Tisdale-Couch added nine points off the bench
- Wells College was led by Ivan Oduro-Dompreh who scored 16 points
Coaching Points
"We knew this would be a tough challenge for us," said head coach
Jon Mack. "Wells does a great job of attacking. They have two really good players that can get downhill. I thought in the first half we gave up too many points in the paint and offensive rebounds. We also played at their pace. In the second half we did a better job of defending and scoring off stops. We held them to only 10 points in the paint and increased our points in the paint. I was proud of our guys keeping their character and pushing through some adversity. I thought that was the key to the game for us. We are humbled to advance and look forward to the next challenge."
Who's Next
The men's basketball team will host the United East Championship Game against #2 Penn St. Harrisburg at 4:00 p.m. Check out the preview below.
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United East Championship Preview
Team Records
Lancaster Bible: 20-6 overall, 15-1 United East
Penn St. Harrisburg: 22-3 overall, 14-2 United East
Regular Season Meetings
Jan. 19, 2022: The Chargers suffered their lone conference loss of the season, falling to Penn St. Harrisburg in Middletown, Pa. by a score of 93-76. The Chargers fell in an early hole, trailing by 20 points at the end of the first half.
Adam Stoltzfus led the Chargers attack, scoring 16 points while pulling in six rebounds. Penn St. Harrisburg, led by Donaye Baylor-Carroll who scored 19 points, pulled away in the second, leading by 40 points at one point. LBC made a push, charging within 17 points late in the second half, but the Chargers ultimately fell.
Feb. 19, 2022: LBC's second matchup with the Lions went much differently, with the Chargers picking up a 72-57 win in front of a rowdy home crowd. Both teams entered the game with only one conference loss, allowing the winning team to capture the regular season title and the privilege of hosting the conference tournament. The Chargers played with a great defensive intensity holding the Lions to a season-low 20 points in the first half. In the second half,
Jordan Shewbridge took over the game, scoring 20 of his 26 points, connecting eight times from beyond the arc. The Chargers held off one final push from Penn St. Harrisburg, winning the regular season title.
Players To Watch
Lancaster Bible: The Chargers are led by United East Player of the Year
Jordan Shewbridge, who finished the regular season averaging 19.8 points per game, scoring 495 points… Shewbridge was excellent from beyond the arc, shooting 42.9% from 3-point range…
Grant Sareyka earned All-Conference Second Team Honors by averaging 15.7 points per game… Sareyka proved to be a tenacious defender, leading the conference in steals with 62…
Adam Stoltzfus also earned All-Conference Second Team Honors leading the United East in rebounds per game pulling in 9.7 boards.
Penn St. Harrisburg: Four Penn State Harrisburg men's basketball players in Donyae Baylor-Carroll, Dylan Daniels, Brandon Coleman, and Nate Curry earned United East All-Conference recognition
… Baylor-Carroll, Coleman, and Daniels were named to the all-conference first team, while Curry was a second-team all-conference selection.
