By John Boccacino/Sports Information Director
The Keuka College men's basketball team reached the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) tournament and won the most games in a season since 2005-06.

But the Wolfpack saw their season come to an end after a 62-53 loss to Lancaster Bible College Saturday afternoon inside the Horst Athletic Center in Lancaster, Pa.

Junior Casey Williams (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) scored 21 points with nine rebounds, and senior Trevor Healey (Wethersfield, Conn./Wethersfield) recorded his 10th double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to power the Green and Gold.

Keuka (15-10) became just the fifth team to limit Lancaster Bible (24-2) to under 63 points in a game, but it wasn't enough as the Wolfpack fell to 0-4 in NEAC semifinal contests.

"Our goal was to get to the conference tournament and see what happened. The team accomplished its goal and it was a successful season, so it was wonderful. It was a lot of fun," said fifth-year head coach Thad Phillips.

"In the second half, they made shots and we didn't. We held them to 62 points and 38 percent shooting, both below their season averages. We did a great job defensively, but when it came down to it, we missed some layups and we missed some bunnies and that's the way the ball bounces sometimes. Our team went out and competed for 40 minutes, and I felt that was overall one of the better games we've played all year. We just didn't convert offensively."

Lancaster Bible will play the winner of SUNY Cobleskill (15-10) and Penn State-Abington (10-16) in the NEAC title game at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon. The winner receives the NEAC's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III tournament.

Since the NEAC was realigned for the 2004-05 season, Keuka has never won a men's basketball championship, with the program previously reaching the conference semifinals four times: in 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2014-15.

Keuka was held to 28.3 percent shooting (17 of 60), the Green and Gold's worst shooting performance of the year.

Lancaster Bible entered averaging 74 points per game, third-best in the NEAC, but was held 12 points below its season average.

A stingy Wolfpack defense held the Chargers to 37.8 percent shooting (17 of 45), including 32 percent in the first half (8 of 25). A potent Lancaster Bible offense entered the semifinal averaging 49.6 percent.

Trailing 26-25 at halftime, Healey backed down his defender and buried a jumper for a 27-26 lead 13 seconds into the second. But it would be Keuka's final lead.

Off an intentional foul, the Chargers hit a pair of free throws, then forced a missed jumper and took a 30-27 lead on a pair of free throws from C.J. Dunston, the NEAC's Player of the Year.

Dondre Perry (10 points) threw down a dunk as part of a 10-0 run, and the Chargers led 36-27 with 14:10 remaining.

Keuka went more than 6:30 without scoring until Williams hit a pair of free throws to snap the drought. Following a missed jumper, Williams drove the lane and converted a finger roll to trim the deficit to 36-31 with 12:40 remaining.

But the Chargers answered with a 14-4 run and led 50-35 with 5:06 remaining.

Junior Vinney Zambito (Elba, N.Y./Batavia Notre Dame) converted two free throws, and Healey hit a driving layup to slice the deficit to 50-39 with 3:57 to play.

Freshman Cliff Stevens (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) and Williams each made layups to cut the lead to 53-44 with 2:29 remaining, and Starks swished a triple to claw the Wolfpack within 55-48 with 1:52 remaining.

But Keuka could get no closer and Lancaster Bible advanced into the NEAC championship for the second straight year.

Senior Tyler Hixson (Shortsville, N.Y./Red Jacket) made a jumper for a 2-1 lead, and Williams hit a '3' and a pair of free throws for a 7-3 early lead.

Naheer Mirza (15 points) made a layup to cut the Keuka advantage to 7-5, but Healey and Zambito knocked down consecutive triples as the Wolfpack enjoyed a 13-5 lead with 13:12 remaining in the opening stanza.

It would be Keuka's largest lead of the semifinals.

Lancaster Bible responded with an 11-0 run and led 16-13 on a '3' from Jordan Mellinger with 9:03 to play in the first.

Freshman Greg Tyler (Edgewater, Md./Southern) made a layup and Stevens hit a jumper for a 17-16 Keuka lead.

After Herbie Brown made a pair of free throws for an 18-17 lead, Williams answered with a pair at the line for a 19-18 edge with 6:44 remaining.

A 7-0 Lancaster Bible spurt gave the Chargers a 25-19 lead with 1:50 remaining in the first, but Hixson and Williams added baskets on consecutive possessions as Keuka closed within 25-23.

Dunston added a free throw for a three-point Charger lead, but Hixson buried a jumper to send the Green and Gold into halftime trailing 26-25.

In the lone regular season meeting between the two schools, Lancaster Bible earned a 66-57 win over Keuka on Jan. 23.

The loss to Lancaster Bible marked the last game for a quintet of Keuka seniors: Healey, Hixson, Jeremy Crawford (Oakfield, N.Y./Oakfield-Alabama), Adam Starks (Wellsville, N.Y./Andover) and Jared Wagner (Pittsford, N.Y./McQuaid).

"I've got gray hairs because of this recruiting class, and I'm happy to see them go because they are going to go on and be successful young men outside in the world, which is what we as coaches wanted them to do," Phillips said of his first recruiting class in Keuka Park.

"But I will miss our seniors. They set the standard. Now, we've been to the conference tournament and everyone knows what it's like and how fun it is to be here. The sense of accomplishment from being here, they've set that standard going forward and our returners will have to raise that standard."