The Lancaster Bible College Men's Basketball team traveled west on New Year's Eve to take on the Bobcats of Pitt-Greensburg on Sunday afternoon, coming away with a 95-75 victory. The Chargers finish 2023 with a record of 5-8 overall and 1-1 in the United East, while the Bobcats drop to 3-8 overall and 2-2 in the AMCC.
 
How it Happened: The Chargers got off to a fast start as they opened the game on a 10-0 run, led by Maureon Tisdale-Couch with six quick points. The Bobcats ended their drought, but Nile Austin and Luke Rumbaugh kept it going with jumpers of their own, then Tisdale-Couch found the basket again to extend the lead to 16-5. Later in the half, Grant Sareyka knocked down a three to make it a 12-point game, then Sareyka assisted on a Tyshaun Pulley 3-pointer to make it 24-11 Chargers. Pulley returned the favor on a Sareyka triple to put LBC up 18, then he made a layup to give LBC their largest lead of the half/game at 37-15. Pitt-Greensburg began to chip away in the remaining minutes of the half, shooting 16-18 on free throws to cut the deficit to 13 as LBC entered halftime up 51-38.
 
Sareyka got the Chargers started in the second half with four points, but the Bobcats quickly cut into the lead to make it a single-digit game at 55-47. Rumbaugh and Sareyka helped keep the Bobcats at bay, but the lead was shortened to just six with less than 10 minutes to go. Connor Storr and Seth Beers scored to push the lead back to 10, then Sareyka make sure the Bobcats wouldn't come back with seven in a row for the Chargers. Storr and Dan King supplemented with points, but it was all Sareyka as he finished with 23 second-half points to help Lancaster Bible seal a 95-75 victory to end 2023 on a high note.
 
By the Numbers:
- The Chargers dominated the paint with 50 points to the Bobcats' 26 and and scored 22 points off turnovers
- Lancaster Bible shot 39-75 (52%) from the field and 9-13 (69.2%) on free throws, while the Bobcats shot 23-63 (36.5%) overall and 22-25 (88%) from the line
- Grant Sareyka put on a show for the Chargers with a stellar 42-point game, adding a game-high five steals
- Seth Beers finished with eight points, six assists and four steals
- Luke Rumbaugh reached double-figures with 10 points
- The Bobcats were led by Matthew Marinchak with 26 points, five rebounds, and 9-10 shooting from the free throw line
 
Information to Know: This was the Chargers' first matchup with Pitt-Greensburg, their sixth of seven first-time matchups for Lancaster Bible for the 2023-24 season. The Chargers scored a season-high 51 first-half points against the Bobcats and collected their first true road non-conference win of the season, now sitting at 4-3 away from home on the season. Senior Grant Sareyka recorded his second 40-point game of the season, making him the first to have 40+ points twice in a season since Sam Rempel did it three times in the 1999-2000 season. Sareyka also climbed the all-time list today as he passed both Frank Maloy ('83) and Rick Jones ('80) to move into 15^th all-time in scoring for the Chargers, now with 1,318 career points. Sareyka also recorded his 200^th career assist in the first half. Fellow senior Seth Beers had four steals today, moving him into a tie for 13^th all-time with 106 career steals. Beers also sank his 100^th career free throw in the second half.
 
Up Next: The Chargers play their first game of 2024 at home against Haverford College on Wednesday, January 3 at 7:00 p.m.