Box Score

Lancaster, PA - In the NCCAA East Region semi-final between the the Crimson Eagles and the Chargers of Lancaster Bible College, PBU mounted a ferocious second half comeback but fell short by 2 points.

The first half was a very close affair early on as the teams traded the lead back and forth, with Lancaster unable to make use of their home court advantage. That is until the 16th minute mark. With the score at 31-27 in favor of the Chargers, LBC went on a brutal 11-0 run to open up a 15 point lead just before halftime. PBU's Seth Heinicke (Ivyland, PA / Calvary Christian) cut it to 12 with a three-pointer with just 23 seconds left, but the damaged had been done and momentum was firmly in the hands of the Chargers going into the break.

Heinicke and Jeremy Pearson (Detroit, MI / Stevenson) were pacing the Crimson Eagles with 8 first half points, but nobody in Crimson could seem to stop LBC's Keith Keltner at the moment who racked up 15 points in the opening stanza. Keltner helped the Chargers to 22 points in the paint, 16 more than the Crimson Eagles.

With 20 more minutes to play, both teams had it all to play for, but the Crimson Eagles had an uphill battle to climb, a 12 point deficit to overcame, and a hostile Chargers crowd to contend with.

A double digit lead remained the status quo for the opening 8 minutes with Lancaster Bible at one point opening up the games largest lead of 16.

Whether someone forgot to tell PBU guard Adam Derus (Lancaster, PA / Manheim Township) there was a first half or the thought of going down without a fight, something sparked the sharp-shooter to life. Derus was instrumental in a PBU fight back that started with 12 minutes left in the game. Down 53-37 and facing their largest deficit of the game, Derus had 8 points in a Crimson Eagle 10-0 run over the next two and a half minutes.

The once down-and-out Crimson Eagles, trailing by 12 at half and 16 in the second half, actually fought their way back to a 1 point deficit and eventually held the lead for 13 seconds. LBC quickly regained the lead but later the two teams found themselves all tied up, 70-70, with 3:26 left.

With an appearance in the East Region final on the line, the Chargers jumped to a 5 point lead, 75-70, before PBU surged back to make it 78-76 with 1:16 left. For such an exciting contest, the game seemed to have an anti-climatic ending. Not a single point was scored in the remainder of the game. Both sides failed to convert on free-throws with the Chargers missing 2 chances to close out the game while PBU went 0-for-3 from the line. LBC missed their only shot in the final minute, whereas PBU went 0-for-2.

After only scoring 4 poinst in the first half, Adam Derus exploded for 21 second half points to equal a game-high of 25 points. Freshman Seth Heinicke compiled 16 points, while Jeremy Pearson, who usually pulls the strings for the offense, tallied 13 points. Kevin Joseph (Brooklyn, NY / HS for Leadership) came on strong down the back stretch of the season and contributed 10 points. Charles Kennedy (Philadelphia, PA / Roxborough) put in a solid shift on defense with 2 blocks, 3 steals, and 10 rebounds to go along with 8 points.

LBC's Keith Keltner also had 25 points.

Lancaster Bible advances to the East Region final this Friday against Valley Forge Christian.