Lancaster Bible 82, St. Mary's (MD) 75

St. Mary's (MD) Starters
Mason Jr., Crawford, Alexander, Jones, Goodwin
 
LBC Starters
Seth Beers, Tyler Hilton, Grant Sareyka, Jordan Shewbridge & Adam Stoltzfus
 
How It Happened
The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team got a statement win at St. Mary's College of Maryland, beating the Seahawks by a score of 82-75 on Monday, February 7.
 
Jordan Shewbridge got the scoring started for the Chargers (15-6 Overall, 11-1 United East), driving to the basket for a layup. The Seahawks (11-7 Overall, 10-2 United East) started on a 7-2 run to open the game, but layups by Shewbridge and Tyler Hilton brought the Chargers back within one with 15 minutes remaining in the half. St. Mary's went on a 15-4 run over the next few minutes to take a 12-point lead, but 3-pointers from Seth Beers and Grant Sareyka pulled the Chargers back within seven. Two quick layups by Adam Stoltzfus and Sareyka trimmed the Seahawk advantage to just six points. After Sareyka tied the game at 29 with a 3-pointer, a pair of takeaways by the defense led to layups for Maureon Tisdale-Couch and Beers to help Lancaster Bible grab a six-point advantage. Stoltzfus added a pair of layups in the final two minutes of the first half to extend LBC's lead to eight points. Andrew Zentner threw down a powerful dunk, firmly seizing momentum for the Chargers. Beers closed out the first half by hitting a 3-pointer that gave the Chargers a 48-35 lead heading into halftime.
 
Ethan Beachy got on the board first for LBC in the second half, draining a 3-pointer to put the Chargers up 51-42. Tisdale-Couch stretched the lead back to double digits with a strong drive to the hoop. The teams traded buckets over the next few minutes, with Sareyka banking in a transition layup off a pass from Hilton to put the Chargers up by 13. Tyshaun Pulley drove to the paint for a floater to give the Chargers a 64-51 lead with twelve minutes to go. After several minutes without much scoring, Shewbridge hit a 3-pointer from the corner to put LBC up 70-57. St. Mary's wouldn't go away, pulling within five points with under four minutes to go. Stoltzfus knocked down a long jumper to beat the shot clock to put the Chargers up by nine with about one minute left in the game. Clutch free throw shooting down the stretch helped LBC secure the 82-75 victory.
 
Inside The Numbers
-The Chargers were led in scoring by Jordan Shewbridge and Adam Stoltzfus, who each had 17 points
-Stoltzfus also posted a double-double, adding 11 rebounds to his scoring total and blocking 2 shots
-Seth Beers scored 13 points, going 2-3 from behind the arc and dishing 4 assists
-Maureon Tisdale-Couch provided seven points off the bench
-The Seahawks were led by Duane Mason Jr. and Gary Grant, each scoring 16 points
-The Chargers won the turnover battle, forcing 21 turnovers and converting them into 27 points
 
Coaching Points
"Tonight was a big road win for us against a very good and physical St. Mary's Team," said head coach Jon Mack. "I thought we started the game poorly, but we finished the first half strong.  The turning point for us was our 16-0 run to close out the half by turning our defense into offense. In the second half, we gave our opponent way too many extra possessions with our turnovers and allowing offensive boards.  We must do a better job in these categories if we want to accomplish something great. Overall, I was proud of our fight and grit today.  I thought Adam did a great job establishing himself on both ends of the floor, including making clutch free throws down the stretch.  I also thought Seth did a great job defending and dictating our up-tempo pace while being pressured all night.
 
Historical Note
Jordan Shewbridge moved into 4^th place on Lancaster Bible's all-time scoring list, bringing his career total to 1,533 points. He passed CJ Dunston (2012-16) who had scored 1,531 points during his four year career. 
 
Who's Next
The men's basketball team will travel to Penn St. Berks to face the Lions on Wednesday, February 9 at 6:00 p.m.
 
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