The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team opened its 2016-17 season with a roller coaster ride of a game on Friday night at the Mayser Center at Franklin & Marshall. Overcoming a 15-point first-half deficit, the Chargers took a 17-point lead in the second half, before watching it slowly evaporate away. The Chargers and Diplomats battled back-and-forth through overtime, before Franklin & Marshall was able to pull out a three-point victory, 94-91.
How it Happened: The Chargers were fortunate to trail by just 12 at halftime as Lancaster Bible turned the ball over 18 times in the opening 20 minutes of the game. Lancaster Bible's Micah Brown scored 12 of the team's 27 first-half points and the Chargers did force 10 Franklin & Marshall turnovers as well.
Out of the break, the Chargers caught fire, specifically junior Herbie Brown, who scored the team's first seven points of the half. The rest of the group came alive as well, as Lancaster Bible outscored Franklin & Marshall, 29-2 over the first 8:57 of the second half, en route to a 62-47 lead. A 3-pointer by Austin Brownwith 9:55 to play gave Lancaster Bible its biggest lead of the game at 62-45.
Franklin & Marshall began to chip away at its deficit, but Lancaster Bible still held a 77-63 lead with 3:33 to play after two free throws from Micah Brown. From there however, the wheels fell back off again, as Brown's two free throws would be the final two points Lancaster Bible would score in regulation. The Diplomats defensive pressure caused Lancaster Bible to turn the ball over time and time again and Franklin & Marshall made the Chargers pay as they went on a 14-0 run and tied the game with 33 seconds remaining.
In overtime, the Chargers took a 79-77 lead, but trailed the rest of the 5-minute period. Lancaster Bible closed the gap to 88-87 with 1:15 to go, but couldn't get a late stop and eventually lost by three.
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 55.4 percent (31-of-56) from the floor, while the Diplomats shot 40.3 percent (31-of-77)...Franklin & Marshall took 21 more shots than Lancaster Bible and took 10 more free throws...Micah Brown had a career-high 28 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc...Brown was also 9-of-10 from the free throw line and had five rebounds...Herbie Brown also had a career-high as he poured in 23 points and added six rebounds and three assists...The final Brown, Austin Brown, had 16 points and four boards...Sophomore Jason Kuntzelman chipped in with nine points, while Alex Whitt had five points and four boards...Junior Bill Livezey had four points, four rebounds and four assists...The Chargers finished with 30 turnovers...Matthew Tate had a team-high 23 points for the Diplomats.
The Coach Says: "It's a frustrating loss, considering the lead we had," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Zach Filzen said. "We fell apart at the end because of their pressure and I take responsibility for that. We should have changed a few things up and realized what they were trying to do earlier."
"I thought the guys fought hard and got after it in the second half," Filzen said. "We showed glimpses of how good we can be if we play with passion and fight. We need to play better defensively and not turn the ball over and if we can combine those elements, we will be fine."
"It's frustrating to have a team that's on their home court on the ropes and not put them away, but we will learn from this and keep improving," Filzen said.
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 1-3 all-time against Franklin & Marshall...Brown's 28 points eclipse his previous career-high of 23 points which he had in last season's opener when he was a member of Messiah College's basketball team...The 30 turnovers are the most for Lancaster Bible since the Chargers turned it over 30 times against Wisconsin-Platteville on November 24, 2012.
Up Next: Lancaster Bible will face Saint Vincent on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the consolation game of the Lancaster Rotary Tip-Off Tournament...The game will be played at Franklin & Marshall.