Lancaster, Pa. – The Lancaster Bible College Men's Basketball team squared off against United East Conference foe Penn St. Abington for the first time since the conference championship last year. The Chargers ran to an 82-70 victory behind freshman Connor Storr's double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. The Chargers had three others in double-figures: Grant Sareyka (19), Ty Erisman (15), and Luke Rumbaugh (10). The win pushes the Chargers a step closer to .500 as they are 7-8 overall and 2-1 in conference. The Lions are 6-8 overall and 0-2 in conference.
 
How it Happened: The Chargers managed to find the scoreboard a mere ten seconds into the game as Sareyka got an off-ball steal for a score. The Lions, however, responded with two layups of their own to take the lead 4-2. The teams continued to trade baskets until the Chargers regained the lead 21-20 at 6:38 left in the first half off back-to-back layups from Sareyka and Storr. Rumbaugh proceeded to score eight straight points for the Chargers while a layup from Seth Beers at 4:51 brought the Chargers' lead to eight, the largest of the half up until that point. The Chargers closed the first half on an 8-2 run capped off by a fadeaway jumper from Sareyka to put the lead to nine heading into the locker room, 44-35.
 
Looking to capitalize off the momentum built at the end of the first half, the Chargers raced to a 12-point lead early in the second half. Maureon Tisdale-Couch, Sareyka, and Storr all got layups to go. The brightest moment of the second half came around the nine-minute mark or so as Erisman proceeded to hit two of his five second half three-pointers and Storr got consecutive layups to make it a 19-point lead. Chargers kept pace until the five-minute mark as the Lions put together one last run using Charger turnovers to bring it as close as 11 points, but the Chargers kept their distance and secured the 82-70 win.
 
From the Coach: "I thought we started and ended the game poorly. The common denominator in both those segments was our turnovers. For the most part this season, we have done a good job of taking care of the ball. I was very disappointed in our decision making in those moments.
 
Outside of those periods, I thought we did a good job with our defensive pressure and rotation when not fouling. I was very pleased with our tempo and distribution of the ball. We tallied 25 assists and had 4 players in double figures. 
 
We still have several areas to improve on both ends, but I like how we are trending since our Puerto Rico trip." – Head Coach Jon Mack
 
By the Numbers: The Chargers finished 48-percent (34-70) from the field, 28-percent (6-21) from three, and 72-percent (8-11) from the charity stripe… the Lions were held to 40-percent (24-59) and 25-percent (3-12) from three… the Chargers scored 52 points in the paint, 21 fast-break points, and 16 points off turnovers while assisting on 25 of their 34 made field goals… Storr finished with a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds… Sareyka finished with 19 points and seven rebounds… Erisman went 5-9 from three-point land and Seth Beers finished with nine assists on the day.

Information to Know: Senior Grant Sareyka not only surpassed 300 points on the season with 19 in today's game, but has entered the top-ten in program history in scoring for the men's basketball program. Sareyka jumped both Albert Suniga ('15) and Brian Long ('77) to move into 9th all-time with 1,359 points and 10 games remaining in the regular season.
 
Up Next: The Chargers host another familiar foe in Penn College on Wednesday, January 10 at 5:00 p.m. at the Horst Athletic Center.