The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team punched its ticket to the NCAA Division III National Tournament on Sunday afternoon, as the Chargers defeated Morrisville State, 74-69 in the North Eastern Athletic Conference Final at Horst Athletic Center.
 
The victory propels the Chargers to the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the second time in three seasons, and Lancaster Bible is now 23-5 this season. The Mustangs finished their year at 19-9.
 
How it Happened: Morrisville State handled the nerves of the early part of the contest, and jumped out to a 10-6 lead 3:46 into the game, as Brison Hall knocked down a jumper.
 
After trailing 12-4, Lancaster Bible rattled off six straight points, thanks to back-to-back three-point plays from juniors Quentin Davis and Christo Majok. A back-and-forth game ensued, as senior Herbie Brown cut the Chargers' deficit back to two, 21-19 on a jumper with 10:46 remaining in the opening half.
 
Sophomore Luke Beers gave Lancaster Bible its first lead of the game, 22-21, on a 3-pointer with 10:08 to play, and Brown followed that up with a three-point play of his own 1:15 later to make it 25-21.
 
Morrisville State senior Trent Ward, facing the Chargers for the third straight season in the NEAC Final, tied the game at 27-27 with 5:46 remaining in the first, but Lancaster Bible responded on its next possession, as Majok knocked down a 3-pointer.
 
The scoring slowed in the final five minutes of the half, as freshman Britton Beachy hit a jumper with 19 seconds to play to give the Chargers a 34-33 lead, which they would take into halftime.
 
Morrisville State sprinted out of the gates again in the second half, going on a 7-2 run over the first 1:15, to grab a 40-36 advantage. Majok hit another big 3-pointer to cut the Chargers' deficit to 42-41 two minutes later, and Davis converted a layup on the next Lancaster Bible possession to give the Chargers the lead.
 
A jumper from Mustangs' guard Tyrin Miller gave Morrisville State a 48-47 lead with 14:06 to play, but Lancaster Bible used a 7-0 run over the next 1:15 to take a 54-48 lead. Junior Alex Whitt had four of the seven points, including a layup on a great pass from senior Jalen Archer.
 
Lancaster Bible maintained a two-possession lead for several minutes, but Hall hit a jumper for the Mustangs with 9:21 to play, to cut Morrisville State's deficit to 59-57. Ward cut Lancaster Bible's lead to one, 64-63, with two free throws, and was fouled shooting a 3-pointer less than a minute later, and made 2-of-3 shots to trim the Mustangs' deficit to 67-65.
 
Beers hit huge 3-pointer for the Chargers with 3:15 remaining to give Lancaster Bible a five-point lead, though Morrisville State climbed to back within three thanks to Hall going 2-of-4 from the free throw line over two Mustang possessions.
 
Brown converted two free throws with 1:12 to play to extend Lancaster Bible's lead to 72-67, but Morrisville State responded again with a layup from Hall to make it a three-point game. Lancaster Bible had an empty possession on its next trip down the floor, but a 3-point attempt from Ward wouldn't go, and sophomore Kevin Dennis missed a jumper that was rebounded by Davis as he fell out of bounds, but somehow got the ball to Brown who was fouled with 5.5 seconds to play.
 
Brown hit both free throws and the party was on at Horst Athletic Center.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 24-of-55 (43.6 percent) from the floor, though just 8-of-23 (34.8 percent) from 3-point range…The Chargers were 18-of-20 from the free throw line, and the 90 percent free throw percentage is a season-high…Morrisville State was 25-of-55 (45.5 percent) from the field, and 5-of-18 from beyond the arc…The Mustangs were 14-of-18 from the free throw line…Brown finished with a game-high 18 points, and chipped in with four rebounds and four assists…Majok, named Tournament MVP, had 16 points, four rebounds and three assists…Davis was the third and final player in double figures with 14 points, and also had nine rebounds and three blocks…Beers finished with nine points and three assists, and Whitt had eight points…Senior Bill Livezey added seven points and four assists…Tyrin Miller had a team-high 16 points for the Mustangs, while Dennis had 14 points and 12 rebounds.
 
The Coach Says: "We knew today was going to be a battle," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Zach Filzen said. "Morrisville State has been one of the top teams in this conference for a long time, and they know how to handle these types of moments. We had to remind our guys to stay patient, and continue to relax, and do what we do well."
 
On the Team's Success: "This season continues to be just an awesome experience," Filzen said. "I've never been around a team in my whole life, playing or coaching, that has bought in to what we have asked them to do. I'm so thankful this group gets to experience winning a conference championship, and we are a very blessed group."
 
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 5-6 all-time against Morrisville State…Either the Chargers or Mustangs have now won six of the past seven NEAC Championships…This was the fourth meeting in the past five years between the two teams in the NEAC Final…Each team has now won two, with the Mustangs winning in 2014 and 2017, while the Chargers won in 2016 and 2018…Lancaster Bible has won 15 of its last 16 games…The 27 team rebounds for the Chargers were a season-low…Morrisville State's Kevin Dennis became the sixth player in program history to score 1,000 points, as he eclipsed the mark late in the first half…Lancaster Bible's bench outscored Morrisville State's, 19-8…The Chargers finished the season with a 13-2 record at home, including an 11-0 mark against NEAC schools.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible will learn its opponent for the first round of the NCAA Division III National Tournament on Monday at 12:30 p.m.…The NCAA Division III Selection Show can be found on www.ncaa.com, and you can learn all about the tournament at www.d3hoops.com.