The Lancaster Bible College Men's Basketball team traveled to Pippas Passes, Kentucky for the NCCAA Division I Mideast Regional Playoffs on Thursday night, facing host and two-seed Alice Lloyd, falling after an overtime battle 107-103. The Chargers conclude their season at 18-9 overall and the third-seed in the Mideast Region, while the Eagles improve to 20-9 overall and advance to the Mideast Regional Championship on Friday.

How it Happened:
The scoring got started with sophomore Connor Storr, canning a layup for the first points of the game. Alice Lloyd scored the next five points, but freshman Isaac Smalls cut to the hoop for a score to make it 5-4 early. It became the Luke Rumbaugh show for the next four minutes as the junior scored 13 of the Chargers' next 15 points, outscoring the Eagles by himself 13-5 in that span. Junior Reaves Hooks went on a run of seven straight points for LBC as the Chargers built the lead to double-digits at 32-21, then the Eagles halted the LBC offense as they scored nine in a row to cut the lead to just two. Sophomore Camden Hurst got on the board with a pull-up three to stop the run, then the focus shifted to junior Nile Austin, going on a heater to end the half with five made 2-pointers in the final 3:26 of the half to send the Chargers into halftime up 12 on the home team 52-40.

The Chargers continued to lead by double-digits early in the second half, starting with a layup from graduate student Grant Sareyka to open the half. Hurst connected on another three, then Storr got open in the paint for a bucket to keep the lead at 10. LBC tied their largest lead of the half at 14 points after a fastbreak layup by Hurst, then Alice Lloyd began building momentum, scoring six quick points to cut it to eight before a 3-pointer from Hooks boosted it back to 11. Another three from Austin with under nine minutes to play kept the Chargers up, but the Eagles began to finish more plays and capitalize on Charger misses to chip the deficit away. With just 51-seconds remaining, the Eagles tied the game at 89 after back-to-back made threes, but Sareyka came down the other end of the floor with a layup to put LBC up again. With just one second on the clock, Alice Lloyd found the lane for a layup to tie the game, sending the Regional Semifinal to overtime knotted up at 91 apiece.

Senior Tyshaun Pulley started OT strong with a pair of midrange jumpers, keeping the game close as the Eagles made several baskets early. Alice Lloyd got out to a four-point lead, but Austin struck once again with a 3-pointer to cut in to one at 99-98. The Eagles' Koji Anderson came up clutch for them with four straight points, helping create the separation they needed to complete the comeback and take down the Chargers on their own floor 107-103 in an overtime thriller.

By the Numbers:
- The Chargers shot 51-percent overall, 39-percent from 3-point range, and 77-percent on free throws, while the Eagles shot 47-percent overall, 32-percent from deep, and 81-percent on free throws
- Nile Austin had a fantastic night for the Chargers, scoring a career-high 28 points and shooting 8-11 on 3-pointers
- Grant Sareyka added 15 points and four rebounds off the bench in his final game
- Connor Storr grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and dished a career-high six assists
- The Eagles were led by Jackson Tackett, notching a double-double with 27 points and 12 rebounds and shooting 10-11 on free throws

Information to Know:
This was the Chargers' first-ever matchup with Alice Lloyd and their first appearance in the NCCAA Regional Championship since the 2021-22 season when they played in the Midwest Region. The Chargers' 52 points in the first half were their highest first-half total of the season and their first 50-point first half since February 7, 2024 vs Penn St. Berks. Nile Austin had a historic performance on Thursday night, not only notching his first career 20-point game with 28 but also tying the single-game program record for made threes in a game, draining eight 3-pointers on 72.7% shooting from beyond the arc this game. Austin became just the fifth player in LBC Men's Basketball history to make eight threes in a game.
Several Charger players saw their playing careers come to an end on Thursday night, including graduate students Grant Sareyka and Jordan Praylow and seniors Maureon Tisdale-Couch and Carlos Reynoso. Grant Sareyka had nothing short of a historic career with Lancaster Bible, playing the second-most games in program history at 126 and becoming just the second LBC player to score 2,000 career points, ending at 2,020 in total. Sareyka also finished second in program history with 232 made 3-pointers and became the program's all-time leader in career steals with 261. Sareyka collected four United East All-Conference selections including three First Team nods, six Player of the Week honors, and one NCCAA All-Region honor. Jordan Praylow also had longevity for the Chargers, playing in 123 games at third-most all-time. Praylow was a floor general, collecting 254 career assists and tying him for the 12th-most in program history, making him one of just 13 players with 250+ career assists. He also finished with 266 points, 241 rebounds and 72 steals. Maureon Tisdale-Couch played four seasons with the Chargers, racking up 376 career points and shooting efficiently from the floor at 56.4% on his career. Maureon amassed 295 rebounds and 80 steals, adding 105 assists and 10 blocks to his career totals as well. Carlos Reynoso spent one season with the Chargers after two seasons at Eastern Nazarene, playing in 25 of LBC's 27 games this season. Reynoso had 37 points, 33 rebounds and 12 assists with the Chargers, reaching 100 career points as well.

Congratulations to the Men's Basketball team on a fantastic 2024-25 season!!