The Lancaster Bible men's basketball team traveled to the nation's capital on Saturday afternoon to compete in a United East Conference matchup with the Bison of Gallaudet. The Chargers walked away with an 83-57 victory and their fourth conference win of the year. The program moves to 7-6 overall and 4-0 in conference while the Bison drop to 1-13 overall and 0-5 in conference.
 
How It Happened: Two three-point field goals from juniors Seth Beers and Grant Sareyka and a free throw from senior Adam Stoltzfus helped the Chargers start the game with a 7-0 lead and the Chargers did not look back. The Chargers hit three more three-pointers and junior Andrew Zentner began to dominate the paint with several made layups and shooting fouls to push the lead to double digits. A last second shot from graduate student Jordan Shewbridge before half sent the Chargers to the locker room with a 37-22 lead.
 
Coming out of halftime, the first five minutes of the second half were critical for the Chargers, and tonight they took advantage, growing the lead to as much as 24 points behind tough defense and great ball movement. Zentner and Shewbridge would carry their momentum from the first half into the second half, beginning to score early. The Chargers handled several Galluadet last-ditch efforts throughout the second half and remained consistent in their focus. Coach Jon Mack called a timeout with 6:32 to regain the focus of the group before finishing the game on a 28-11 run and securing the Chargers' fourth United East win with a 83-57 victory.

From the Coach: "I thought we did a great job defending in the half court and sharing the ball with 24 assists. I wasn't too pleased with the amount of second opportunities we were giving them on the glass and with our turnovers, especially in the first half. We did a better job in second half which allowed us to secure the victory. We definitely have some things to clean up as we prepare for a very important and tough conference week." - Head Coach Jon Mack
 
By the Numbers: The Chargers shot 52 percent (26-50) from the floor while shooting a solid 45 percent (10-22) from the three-point land and 75 percent (21-28) from the charity stripe… the Bison finished shooting 33 percent (19-56) from the floor and 13 percent (3-22) from the three… the Chargers shared the ball tallying 24 assists and had 36 bench points… Zentner and Shewbridge led all scorers with 25 and 22 points respectively… junior Seth Beers had 14 points… the Bison were led by Lewis with 14 points.
 
Information to Know: The Chargers hold the edge over the Bison in program history with a 14-9 record including a five-game win streak… the last loss suffered from the Bison was in February 2019 with a 71-73 loss… this is the fourth game in a row that Shewbridge has scored over 20 points and the fifth time this season… this is the first 20-point game of the season for Zentner and his first since the 2020-21 season.
 
Up Next: The Chargers will stay on the road for a highly anticipated game at Penn St. Harrisburg on Tuesday, January 17^th in what we will be the programs' first matchup since last year's United East Conference championship. This game is set to tip off at 7:00 p.m.