The three-seed Lancaster Bible College Men's Basketball team hosted six-seed Notre Dame (Md.) on Saturday afternoon in the United East Playoff Quarterfinals, falling by a score of 78-71 after a strong second half from the Gators. Following the loss, the Chargers are at 18-8 overall while the Gators improve to 15-12 overall and advance to play two-seed Penn St. Harrisburg in the United East Semifinals.

How it Happened:
Sophomore Connor Storr scored first for the Chargers on a fastbreak layup with the assist from graduate student Jordan Praylow, then Storr helped sustain an 11-0 run early in the game with another layup and a tip-in dunk to put the Chargers up 13-3. The Gators responded with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to three, but junior Reaves Hooks ended the run with a layup and junior Luke Rumbaugh scored in transition to cap a 9-0 Charger response and force a timeout. The game of runs continued as Notre Dame (Md.) scored six straight, then sophomore Camden Hurst and Storr each hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to put the Chargers up nine points at 31-22. The Gators held LBC scoreless for the last 4:46 of the half, coming within one at halftime 31-30.

The Chargers started the second half strong as graduate student Grant Sareyka knocked down his first three of the game. Lancaster Bible led by as many as eight in the half as Hurst hit a 3-pointer and Storr finished a layup in the paint to put LBC up 42-34 with 16-minutes remaining. It was at this point that Notre Dame (Md.) began to power back into the game, capitalizing on Charger turnovers and hitting a three to take their first lead since 3-2 at 48-47 with 10:29 to play. The Gators never surrendered the lead, hitting a total of 30 free throws in the game and holding the Chargers under 50% from the field in the second half while shooting 52% themselves. The Chargers came within single digits several times down the stretch, but the Gators staved them off as they led by as many as 14 points and closed out LBC 78-71 to knock the Chargers out of playoff contention.

By the Numbers:
- The Chargers shot 39-percent overall, 33-percent from 3-point range, and 50-percent on free throws, while the Gators shot 42-percent overall, 44-percent from deep, and 73-percent on free throws
- Grant Sareyka scored a game-high 25 points for the Chargers
- Connor Storr added 20 points and eight rebounds
- Camden Hurst reached double-figures with 13 points
- The Gators were led by Ahmad Harrison with a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double

Information to Know:
Grant Sareyka hit a pair of historic milestones for the program during today's game, moving up the ranks in the LBC Men's Basketball record book. Sareyka scored his 2,000th career point in today's game, becoming just the second player in program history to reach 2,000 points (Jordan Shewbridge '23, 2,243 pts). Grant also became the all-time leader in steals for Men's Basketball with 259 career steals, passing Drew Karschner '07 for the program record.

Up Next:
The Men's Basketball team has qualified for the NCCAA Division I postseason beginning March 6, with all the details like game times, locations, and teams to be determined.