The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team earned an important conference road victory on Wednesday night, as the Chargers came from behind to defeat Penn St. Abington, 80-73 in Abington, Pa. The victory propels the Chargers to 6-6 overall this season and 3-0 in United East Conference, while the Lions fall to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in conference action. 

How it Happened: Both teams started well offensively, as the Chargers led, 7-6 just 90 seconds into the contest. Graduate student Jordan Shewbridge had five of the first seven points, as the teams continued to trade baskets over the next several minutes. After trailing 16-11, Lancaster Bible used a 5-0 run to knot the score, as junior Seth Beers used a three-point play to tie the game at 16-16. 

Lancaster Bible eventually took the lead and expanded it to 27-22 on a bucket from Andrew Zentner with 5:35 remaining in the half. The Chargers went cold from the field following Zentner's bucket however, and Penn St. Abington used a 13-2 run over the final five minutes to build a 35-29 lead at the half.

The host Lions expanded the lead early in the second half and took a 42-31 advantage on a layup from Brandon Randolph with 17:14 to play. Lancaster Bible battled back over the next minute however, as two straight baskets from Maureon Tisdale-Couch and another bucket from Beers closed the gap to 42-37 with 15:37 remaining. 

After the teams traded baskets, senior Ethan Beachy drained a 3-pointer to bring the Chargers to within two, and junior Malachi McDowell followed with a 3-pointer of his own to give Lancaster Bible its first lead of the second half, 45-44, with 12:28 to play. The teams went back-and-forth over the next eight minutes, with neither team holding a lead more than four points. Lancaster Bible trailed by three with 4:10 remaining, but Shewbridge knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 58-58 with 4:03 to play.

After a free throw by Penn St. Abington restored their one-point lead, Shewbridge caught fire and hit a 3-pointer and back-to-back jumpers to give the Chargers a 65-59 lead with 1:43 remaining. The Lions wouldn't go away however, and drained 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at 65-65. Both teams had a chance to win the game in the final 30 seconds, but neither could connect and the game headed to overtime.

The overtime period belonged to the Chargers, as Lancaster Bible scored on its first four possessions of the extra frame to build an 73-65 lead halfway through overtime. Zentner and Tisdale-Couch traded baskets over the 8-0 run, and Lancaster Bible led by as many as 12 during overtime, as Grant Sareyka's free throw shooting helped seal the victory for the Chargers. 

By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 39.7 percent (29-of-73) from the field, including 35 percent (7-of-20) from 3-point range...The Chargers were also 15-of-23 from the free throw line...Penn St. Abington shot 38.6 percent (22-of-57) from the floor, including 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from beyond the arc...The Lions were 19-of-30 from the free throw line...Lancaster Bible held a massive 54-37 edge in rebounds, including a 21-10 edge on the offensive glass...Shewbridge finished with a team-best 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting and added five assists...Tisdale-Couch added 12 points and nine rebounds, while Zentner had 14 points and 16 boards...Senior Adam Stoltzfus added eight points, while Beers, Sareyka, and McDowell each had six points...Alex Salata had a game-high 26 points to pace the Nittany Lions.

The Coach Says: "Tonight was a big road win for us on many levels," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Jon Mack said. "Abington is a really good and well-coached team, and we had to earn our first road win of the season which required mental toughness. Most importantly, we grew from our non-conference experience. We were in the exact same position two weeks ago against Rowan and weren't able to finish the job in OT. Tonight our guys recognized the same situation after the end of regulation and began to speak optimism and assurance of what needs to get done in OT, and they did just that."

On the team's response after halftime: "We challenged our guys at halftime to be mentally stronger," Mack said. "We were making unforced errors, missing layups, fouling, and playing slow-tempo basketball. In the second half, I though our pressure picked up and allowed us to force 12 turnovers. Unfortunately, we struggled to convert, but we were able to speed up the game and wear them down in OT."

On the team's leadership: "I'm very proud of our upperclassmen for leading today," Mack said. "Their leadership in the second half and OT was a direct influence on our outcome."

Information to Know: Lancaster Bible is now 16-8 all-time against Penn St. Abington, and has won three straight over the Lions...Lancaster Bible's 54 rebounds on Wednesday were a season-high, as were the 29 fouls the team committed...Shewbridge is averaging 26 points over his past three games...Tisdale-Couch had a career-high 12 points and Zentner's 16 rebounds were also a career-high...Wednesday is the seven-year anniversary of Lancaster Bible earning its first-ever ranking in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, as the Chargers came in at number 22 and climbed as high as 13. 

Up Next: Lancaster Bible continues its three-game road swing with a contest at Gallaudet on Saturday at 3 p.m.