NORTH MANCHESTER, IND. – The sophomore combination of guard Caleb Jackson (New Castle, Ind.) and forward Jon Thompson (Rushville, Ind.) led Manchester University in a 60-48 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference loss to Mt. St. Joseph Saturday, Dec. 15.

Jackson and Thompson each scored eight points for the Spartans (4-6 overall, 1-3 HCAC). Jackson also turned in a team-high two steals, while Thompson registered four rebounds. Sophomore guard Grant Newlin (Muncie, Ind.) finished with seven points and a team-best three assists, while fellow sophomore guard Greg Flores (Hammond, Ind.) added seven points, too.

MU battled back and forth with the league unbeaten Lions (5-2, 4-0 HCAC) throughout the opening half. MSJ jumped out to a 12-3 lead early, but Coach Brad Nadborne's squad came right back with a 12-0 run of its own. MU eventually went out to a 29-25 halftime edge.

The second half saw some tough luck shooting from the Black and Gold. Manchester hit just eight-of-24 from the field and was zero-for-10 from beyond the arc, while the visitors heated up,  hitting better than 56 percent en route to a 35-19 swing. Despite the offensive struggles, the Spartans kept it close and trailed by just two (41-39) at the 11:55 mark. A 15-0 run from that point turned the game around for MSJ.

Sophomore guard Joel Scudder led the visitors with 26 points, hitting eight three-pointers in the process. Junior forward David Mann added 12 points.

Manchester breaks from competition until New Year's Eve day Monday, Dec. 31. The Black and Gold journey to NCAA Division I Elon University of North Carolina for a 2 p.m. tipoff inside Alumni Gymnasium in the Koury Athletic Center on Elon's campus.

NOTES: MU stands just a game out of a four-way tie for fourth on the league standings. … Nadborne's crew continues conference play Wednesday, Jan. 2, with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff inside Stauffer-Wolfe Arena against conference rival Anderson.