The Lancaster Bible College Men's Basketball team squared off against St. Mary's (Md.) on Tuesday evening, earning themselves a 100-95 win, their ninth win in the past ten games. The Chargers now sit at 13-9 overall after starting the season just 2-5 and are 7-2 in the United East. The Seahawks move to 11-10 overall and 6-2 in conference.
 
How It Happened: The Chargers took the first lead of the game on a layup from freshman Connor Storr and a three-pointer from graduate student Ty Ersiman. The 5-2 lead just under two minutes of the game was the Chargers' only lead for the first half as the Seahawks came racing back. Back-to-back jumpers from the Seahawks with 9:20 to go in the first half brought the deficit to seven, but the Chargers responded, getting within three points on a jumper from senior Grant Sareyka at 7:44.
 
The Seahawks used the following five minutes and a nice offensive run to push their lead double digits, 47-33, with two minutes remaining in the half. Looking to limit the Seahawks' momentum, the Chargers managed to bring the deficit back within six points on two free throws from Sareyka. As the Chargers began to gain traction and cause turnovers, it was two free throws and a last second heave from the Seahawks that stopped the momentum from fully turning.
 
Opening the second half down 55-44, the Chargers knew every possession mattered for the next twenty minutes if they were going to give themselves a shot to win. Storr got the Chargers going offensively, nailing a three in the middle of the floor, three of his career-high 33 points for the night. Consecutive layups capitalized by an Erisman trey brought the game back to one possession, bringing the Horst Athletic Center to their feet.
 
Between timely shots from Storr and others and an increased intensity on defense, the Chargers managed to keep the deficit to within one or two possessions, but the Seahawks put together another run to bring it to 12 points with 7:46 left. In the next three minutes, the Chargers went from a 12-point deficit to tying the game at 81-81 thanks to a steal and layup from Maureon Tisdale-Couch.
 
Trading baskets, perhaps the biggest shot of the night was a contested three-pointer from Storr at the top of the key, tying the game once again at 90-90 with two minutes left. Storr proceeded to get two free throws on the next possession while Sareyka nailed a corner three, making it a 95-92 ball game with a minute to go. In crunch time, the Chargers finished five for six from the free throw line while limiting the Seahawks to just three points, giving themselves their seventh conference win.
 
By the Numbers: The Chargers shot 46-percent from the field, 45-percent from the three, and 73-percent from the free throw line… the Seahawks shot 63-percent from the field, 60-percent from three, and 74-percent from the charity stripe… the Chargers tallied 19 assists on just eight turnovers while forcing 20 turnovers… Connor Storr finished with a career-high 33 points and 10 rebounds… Sareyka tallied 30 points of his own going 9-10 from the free throw line… Ty Erisman finished with three triples while Seth Beers tallied nine points and five assists… the Seahawks got points from Daryn Alexander and Micah Henry who had 27 and 22 points respectively.
 
From the Coach: Head Coach Jon Mack was quick to note the energy and effort from the Seahawks in the first half putting it simply, "they outworked us". The Seahawks were able to get up and down the floor turning their transition into points, but Coach Mack emphasized the Chargers ability to turn the tide and execute the defensive game plan in the second half. Highlighting both the limited turnovers and winning the second chance points against a tough, well-coached St. Mary's (Md.) squad.

Information to Know: Grant Sareyka is now in the top five for career points in program history, passing CJ Dunston ('16) with 1,535 points in 99 games... the 33 points from Connor Storr is his career-high... the Chargers have split the conference regular season with the Seahawks after falling 81-79 at St. Mary's (Md.) on December 2, 2023.
 
Up Next: The Chargers now turn their attention to this Saturday, February 3 as they travel to Williamsport, Pa. to take on the Penn College Wildcats at 1:00 p.m.