The Lancaster Bible College men's basketball team saw its season come to a sudden end on Friday night, as the Chargers fought for 40 minutes, but Christopher Newport's Tyler Femi hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining to give the Captains a 68-65 victory in the First Round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. Lancaster Bible finishes the season with an overall record of 23-6, while the Captains, who will face Franklin & Marshall in the Second Round, improve to 22-6.
How it Happened: The teams matched buckets in the early minutes, but Lancaster Bible took an 11-5 lead after a jumper from senior Bill Livezey and a 3-pointer from fellow senior Jalen Archer. After Christopher Newport tied the game minutes later at 13-13, Livezey was at it again, as he converted back-to-back layups to give the Chargers a four-point advantage.
The Captains tied it again, 22-22, with 8:44 to play, but the Chargers responded again, as senior Herbie Brown knocked down a 3-pointer, and junior Quentin Davis followed with a layup on the next possession, to give the Chargers a five-point lead with 7:50 to play in the opening half.
Christopher Newport grabbed a 38-35 lead with 2:34 to play, but Lancaster Bible scored the final five points of the half, the final two coming on free throws from junior Christo Majok, to give the Chargers a 40-38 halftime advantage.
Neither team could do much of anything early in the second half, though it was the Chargers who struggled the most, going the first 6:34 of the second frame without a bucket. When Livezey finally converted a layup with 13:26 remaining, the Chargers trailed 45-42. The Captains extended the lead to eight, 53-45, two minutes later on a 3-pointer from Nick Parks, but the Chargers continued to hang around, and cut the deficit to four, 53-49, after back-to-back layups from Majok and sophomore Luke Beers.
Lancaster Bible continued to trail, but two free throws from Majok with 4:15 to play cut the Captains' lead to two, 58-56. This time however, it was Christopher Newport who responded, and took a 65-56 lead after a 7-0 run, capped by two free throws from senior Aaron McFarland.
The Chargers made one final run, and with 43 seconds remaining, Beers got free in the corner and knocked down his only 3-pointer of the game to bring the Chargers to within two, 65-63. Lancaster Bible forced a steal on the Captains next possession, as Herbie Brown dove on a loose ball and the Chargers called timeout.
Lancaster Bible executed its drawn up play to perfection, as Majok put in a layup with 8.9 seconds to play. The Captains brought the ball up the floor and found Femi outside the arc, and he knocked down a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining. Lancaster Bible in-bounded the ball, but couldn't get a shot off and saw its season end.
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible shot 24-of-65 (36.9 percent) from the floor, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range…Christopher Newport shot 25-of-54 (46.3 percent) from the field, and 11-of-29 from distance…Livezey finished with a team-high 15 points for the Chargers on 6-of-10 shooting, while Herbie Brown finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds…Majok was the only other player in double figures with 12 points, and he also added five boards and five steals…Davis had eight points and 11 rebounds for the Chargers, while Beers and senior Jalen Archer had five points…McFarland had a game-high 24 points for the Captains.
The Coach Says: "I'm proud of the guys," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Zach Filzen said. "They've done everything we've asked of them this season, and tonight they fought tooth and nail. I wouldn't want to be with any other group."
On the Second Half: "We knew they would make some adjustments, and give them credit, we had to settle for some tough shots, and they got some momentum," Filzen said.
On the Final 25 Seconds: "We got a stop, and the play we drew up is something we have worked on a lot in practice and sort of saved for the right time, and that was the right time," Filzen said. "We got Christo open for the layup and things looked good, but the kid came down and hit a big shot. Not much else to say, just a big shot."
From Senior Herbie Brown: "We bought in this season, and through everything all year long, we were right there tonight," Brown said. "Despite the loss, this was a great way to end my collegiate career. I've had so much fun playing and there are so many great moments from this season and my career. I've learned so much from my time being here, and we continue to put others first, work hard and have fun."
Information Hodge Podge: This was the first-ever meeting between the two schools…Lancaster Bible finished 8-2 in true road games this season, and 10-4 in all games away from Horst Athletic Center…The eight 3-point attempts were the fewest for the Chargers since a win over Penn St. Berks on Jan. 31…Lancaster Bible's 16 offensive rebounds were the most for the Chargers since a win over Gallaudet on Jan. 9…Herbie Brown finishes his career with 1,331 points, the 11th most in program history.