Echo Spring 2023 - 44

By Ben James ('26)
Over the 2022-23 campaign, the Lancaster
Bible College men's basketball team
experienced one of the program's greatest
seasons. The Chargers ended the regular
season on an 11-game win streak, hosted
the United East Conference Playoffs, reigned
victorious in the conference and won their
first-round game in the NCAA Division III
National Tournament for the first time in
program history.
The team finished the season 21-8, the
sixth-most wins of any LBC men's basketball
team. This fantastic record came behind 15
wins in the United East and just one loss in
conference play. Jordan Shewbridge ('23)
had a historic season to boost the team's
success, becoming the program's all-time
leading scorer with 2,200-plus career points
in his final season as a Charger after passing
the previous record of 1,979 held by Sam
Rempel ('01).
Following the dominant record in the United
East, the Chargers earned the regular season
title, then chalked up a 30-point playoff win
against Wells in the United East semifinals
before meeting Penn State Abington
in the conference championship. The
Chargers overcame the Lions for the third
time this season thanks to an outstanding
performance from Shewbridge, who finished
with a whopping 39 points en route to
winning the tournament's most valuable
player award.
LBC then headed to Mt. Union University
in Alliance, Ohio, to take on New York
University in the first round of the NCAA
Division III National Tournament. The
Chargers started the game looking and
playing like the better team, but the Violets
fought back and showed why they were in
the tournament as well. With just under a
minute remaining, Ethan Beachy ('23) nailed
a 3-pointer to break the 61-61 tie and put the
Chargers on top again. However, the Violets
soon answered with a shot from behind
the arc of their own, tying the game once
again. With just nine seconds remaining,
Shewbridge hit the biggest shot of his career
as he sunk a 3-pointer to give the Chargers
their first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament
victory. The magical run came to an end
the following evening in the NCAA Division
III Second Round with a loss to third-ranked
Mount Union.
This record-breaking season earned
the Chargers many awards and honors.
Shewbridge earned his second consecutive
United East Player of the Year award, as he
averaged 18.8 points per game this season
and finished his career with a record-setting
2,243 points and 369 3-pointers. Shewbridge
also became the first player in program
history to be selected to play in the 2023
National Association of Basketball Coaches
Reese's Division III College All-Star Game,
and he was named to the DIII Hoops Region
IV First Team.
LBC Men's Basketball Head Coach Jon
Mack repeated as Coach of the Year in the
United East after leading the team to a 15-1
conference record. Grant Sareyka ('24) was
named to the United East All-Conference
First Team after surpassing 1,000 career
points. The Chargers' big men, Andrew
Zentner ('23) and Adam Stoltzfus ('23),
were both named to the United East AllConference
Second Team. Zentner averaged
11.6 points and 2.1 blocks per game, while
Stoltzfus had 11.2 points and 10 rebounds
per game.
LBC's women's basketball team improved this season
to a 14-10 record, just missing out on a United East
playoff berth. The Chargers finished 9-7 in the United
East tied with Penn College, but unfortunately, lost
the tiebreaker to the Wildcats. The Chargers ended
the season with a win in their final game against Penn
State Abington at home on the team's senior night.
Jenna Dombach ('24) and Mikayla Via ('23) both put
up 15 points in the season finale to help the team
grab a 63-48 victory in mid-February.
Alaysha Iwais ('24) was the star of the
Chargers this season, as she was named to
the United East All-Conference Second Team.
Iwais finished the season with a conferencehigh
4.9 assists per game and also led the
United East with a 1.72 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The junior guard had 112 assists in this year's
campaign, which is the sixth-most in program history
for a single season.
44 ECHO
Following the season, Head Coach Joy Tharrington
stepped down from her post and took a position
with NCAA Division I member East Tennessee State
University in Johnson City, Tenn. Tharrington posted a
33-27 record in her three years at LBC, and her highly
impactful leadership will be missed by the entire LBC
community.
In early May, the Athletic Department announced
that Ryan Carpenter ('09) would take the reins from
Tharrington. Carpenter played for the men's basketball
program from 2005-08 and, during the 2022-23
season, served as an assistant coach at NCAA Division
II University of Minnesota-Duluth. The Bulldogs went
32-4 and advanced to the NCAA Division II National
Championship game before falling to Ashland
University.
After graduating from LBC, Carpenter returned to the
Midwest, where he and his wife, Rebekah, grew up, and
immediately began a successful high school coaching
career before making the jump to the collegiate level.
" The past two years have really allowed me to get my
feet wet with recruiting, " Carpenter said. " I've always felt
Echo Spring 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Echo Spring 2023
