The Lancaster Bible College Men's Basketball team played in the F&M Holiday Tournament championship game on Tuesday afternoon as they took on host Franklin & Marshall, falling at the buzzer 71-69 on a game-winning 3-pointer. The Chargers drop to 9-3 overall and 1-0 in the United East while the Diplomats improve to 9-1 overall.
 
How it Happened:
Junior Connor Storr got the scoring started for LBC with a layup, then sophomore Bennett Bowers knocked down a 3-pointer for a 5-5 tie. The Diplomats then scored the next eight points before sophomore Doug Adiok got a layup to go, then F&M hit a three to go up ten at 18-8. The Chargers flipped the script with a 7-0 run of their own as Storr had a dunk and junior Camden Hurst finished an and-one play to cut the lead to three. The Diplomats got the lead back up to ten, but the Chargers responded with eight straight after forcing several turnovers and seniors Mark Heidebrecht and Luke Rumbaugh converting on layups. The Chargers pulled within one on a pair of Hurst free throws, but F&M finished the half with seven in a row to take a 39-31 advantage into the halftime break.
 
The lead was stretched to its highest point at 11 after a three to open the half, then Bowers and Storr had buckets to trim it back to seven. The Chargers put together a 10-point run over a five-minute span with a lot of made free throws for LBC as each team fouled in bunches, tying the game at 49-49. The Chargers took their first lead of the game with 11 minutes to play at 51-50 on a layup by Hurst, with Hurst adding another for a three-point lead. F&M swung back in front by five after an eight-point run, then LBC powered back as they jumped back ahead 62-61 on a big three by senior Nile Austin. The teams traded free throws back and forth down the stretch as they traded the lead, then Hurst hit a layup to put LBC up three with 1:09 to play. After cutting it to one, F&M took the ball up the floor and kicked it out for an open three and hit the shot as time expired, delivering the Diplomats a buzzer-beating win as the Chargers fell by two.
 
By the Numbers:
- The Chargers shot 38-percent from the floor, 15-percent from 3-point range, and shot 64-percent from the free throw line
- The Diplomats shot 46-percent from the floor, 37-percent from three, and 56-percent on free throws
- The Chargers won the turnover battle by 11 with 23 points off turnovers to F&M's seven
- Camden Hurst led the Chargers with a game-high 21 points
- Connor Storr added 15 points with a team-high five rebounds
- Luke Rumbaugh reached double-figures with 10 points and 6-8 shooting from the line
- The Diplomats were led by Steve Donahue with 18 points, knocking down the game-winning three as time expired

Information to Know:
The Chargers move to 2-7 all-time against Franklin & Marshall with their last win coming in 2021 against the Diplomats. The Chargers' nine wins before January are their most in program history before the new year.
 
Up Next:
The Chargers will open up the 2026 calendar year on the road on Saturday, January 3 as they travel to take on Moravian in their final non-conference game of the season at 3:00 p.m.