Box Score NORTH MANCHESTER, IND. – Manchester University hit better than 55 percent from the field, canned seven three-pointers and held a 31-24 advantage on the boards Wednesday, Jan. 30, but visiting Defiance reeled off a 10-2 run over the final 4:29 to eke out a 78-77 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference win.
The Spartans, falling to 4-16 overall and 1-12 in the HCAC, broke away from a back-and-forth contest early to lead 28-21 with less than five and a half minutes to go in the first half. Coach Brad Nadborne's team held the edge at halftime (39-37) and built the margin back out to as much as 10 (67-57) in the second half. Defiance (12-8, 8-5 HCAC), borrowing from a career 40-point evening from senior guard Logan Wolfrum, whittled away at the deficit and finally overtook their hosts (77-75) when Wolfrum drilled a three-pointer with 1:45 left.
MU sophomore guard Greg Flores (Hammond, Ind.) squared it up at 77-77 with a baseline lay-up with 29 seconds left. Wolfrum took possession of the ball for the visitors, running the clock down to 2.9 seconds and was fouled. He hit one-of-two free throws for the one-point lead. The Black and Gold did get a solid look at a game-winning bucket but the attempt fell off at the buzzer.
Sophomore forward Jon Thompson (Rushville, Ind.) came off the bench to lead the home team with 20 points. He also drilled three three-point buckets and dished out three assists. Senior forward David House (Elkhart, Ind.) added 17 points, while sophomore forward Silas Sims (Hope, Ind.) finished with 13. Sophomore guard Caleb Jackson (New Castle, Ind.) turned in five rebounds and five assists, while freshman guard Brady Dolezal (Tipton, Ind.) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Manchester University takes to the road Saturday, Feb. 2. The Spartans face off against Franklin inside the Spurlock Center at 3 p.m.
NOTES: Thompson's 20-point night equaled a single-game season high and was his 10th double figure game of the year. … Sims continued his recent roll. He's averaging 14.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game over the last four outings. He's also led the squad in made three-point field goals (six) and is tied for the team lead in steals (three) in the span. Sims' points-per-game average is up five-tenths (9.2-9.7), too.
