The Lancaster Bible College Men's Basketball team hosted cross-town rival Franklin & Marshall Diplomats for their home opener on Saturday. Despite a strong start from the Chargers, the Diplomats went on to win 82-71. The Chargers are now 1-2 overall while the Diplomats improve to 3-0 on the season.
 
How It Happened: It was fast-paced from the start as the Diplomats got things going with a layup on the first possession, but the Chargers responded with five fast-break points featuring a Grant Sareyka corner three and a Luke Rumbaugh layup. The Diplomats hit a three of their own to bring it to 5-5 in the first two minutes of the game. From there it was a dogfight as both programs traded scoring possessions.
 
The Chargers controlled the lead from much of the first half, including nine points from Seth Beers. That was until the six-minute mark when the Diplomats closed the first half on a 12-1 run to make it a nine-point deficit for the Chargers, 36-27.
 
Opening the second half, the Chargers got back-to-back three pointers from Beers and Rumbaugh to bring the deficit to within five, but the Diplomats quickly responded. Sareyka and freshman Daniel King added to the mix offensively, but it wasn't enough as the Diplomats maintained a sizable lead. Looking to get things going, the Chargers couldn't find an answer as the Diplomats ran out to a 17-point lead in the last ten minutes of the game.
 
The Chargers continued to chip away, bringing the deficit to within 11 points, but the Diplomats doused any potential runs, leading to an 82-71 win for the visiting team.

From the Coach: "I thought we played solid defense for 30 minutes of the game. The other 10 minutes (last 5 of the half and between the 15-10 minute mark) we had some bad off the ball breakdowns that led to easy points in the paint. We also struggled offensively in those stretches as well which led to separation for F&M.

We are getting better in some areas, but still have a lot of areas to improve. I was proud of our fight on the boards today against a much bigger team. Holding them under 10 offensive rebounds was key to us staying within striking distance and improving from a week ago." - Head Coach Jon Mack

 
By the Numbers: The Chargers shot 37 percent (22-58) from the floor, 42 percent (8-19) from three, and 70 percent (19-27) from the charity stripe… the Diplomats shot 47 percent (28-59) from the floor, 35 percent (7-20) from three, and 67 percent (19-28) from the free throw line… the Diplomats won the rebounding battle 38-30 and points in the paint 42-26… Sareyka had a game-high 21 points and six rebounds… Beers added 17 points and seven assists… Rumbaugh and Maureon Tisdale-Couch added nine and eight points each… Vakaris Grauslys and Kevin Nowoswiat both had 18 for the Diplomats.

Information to Know: This was the seventh all-time meeting between LBC and F&M, with the Diplomats now leading 5-2. The Chargers won the previous matchup on November 13, 2021. Senior Seth Beers rose into 8th all-time in total assists in program history after dishing seven today, passing Albert Suniga ('15) with 279 on his career. Fellow senior Grant Sareyka had two steals against Franklin & Marshall, moving him into 6th all-time in total steals with 158 and passing Herbie Brown ('18).
 
Up Next: The Chargers return to the Horst Athletic Center Tuesday, November 21 for a non-conference matchup versus Shenandoah at 6:00 p.m.