LANCASTER, Pa. -- Penn College men's basketball was led by Gavin Barrett's game-high 30 points but it was not enough as the Wildcats dropped a 94-86 final to Lancaster Bible in a United East contest. The Wildcats move to 1-3 in league action (4-12 overall). The Chargers are 3-2 (8-8 overall).

How it happened: After a back-and-forth first five minutes, the Wildcats settled in as Ronn Flood Jr.'s layup at the 16:49 mark put Penn College ahead, 10-9. The Wildcats remained ahead of the Chargers for the rest of the half. Livingston Cross added a layup on the next Wildcat possession and Landon Reeder hit back-to-back jays and a free throw for the 17-13 lead with 14:11 to go. Lancaster Bible cut its deficit to one over the next three minutes before Barrett dropped in a layup and converted a free throw for the 3-point play and a 22-20 lead. Another Barrett layup and a triple from Cross put the 'Cats up by seven (27-20) midway through the frame. Reeder stretched the Wildcats' lead to 10 (33-23) with a pair of free throws with 8:36 on the clock as Penn College closed out the first half on a with a 52-46 lead.

The Wildcats remained ahead of the Chargers for the first four minutes of the second half before the home team went ahead 57-55 with 16 minutes in the game. Lancaster Bible built its lead up to 64-59 over the next four minutes before Penn College started closing the gap when Christian Chander drained a three, Cross hit a pair of free throws and Barrett put in another layup to get the 'Cats within two (68-66) with 10:12 to go. Barrett nailed a three and put away a fast break layup with 7:16 remaining for the Wildcats' final lead of the contest at 73-71 before the Chargers pulled away down the stretch.

Inside the box: Barrett shot 11-for-18 with three 3-pointers and was 5-of-6 from the line for his 30-point display. Barrett is just 29 points away from reaching 1,000 for his career. 

Livingston Cross (16), Landon Reeder (13) and Ronn Flood, Jr. (11), all reached double figures for the Wildcats, Cross tallied his third-straight double-double with 11 rebounds. Penn College shot 51.8% (29-56) from the floor and the defense combined for eight steals.  

The Chargers were led by Grant Sareyka's 20 points while the defense came away with 19 steals.

Up next: Penn College continues United East action with a home game against Penn State Abington on Wednesday at 5 p.m.