ANDERSON, Ind. – Manchester University dropped a hard-fought contest on the road on Wednesday night at rival Anderson University.  The Ravens outlasted the Spartans 82-71.

Anderson opened with a hot start on Wednesday, jumping out to an early 14-2 lead.  The Spartans battled back in the opening period and trailed by three, 19-16, following a layup from Cortiz Buckner (Lafayette, Ind. / Lafayette Jefferson) at the 7:32 mark.  Manchester trailed 31-27 at the intermission.

Manchester was unable to regain the lead in the second half as the Ravens held a steady double-digit advantage until the final minute of the contest.

Anderson shot 24-of-54 from the field and the Ravens were held to 28.6 percent (6-21) shooting from three-point territory.  Manchester University shot 27-of-63 from the floor and 3-of-13 from three.

Free throw shooting was a in important factor in Wednesday's contest.  Manchester finished 14-of-23 (61 percent) from the foul line.  Anderson shot 28-of-36 (77.8 percent) from the charity stripe.

Cortiz Buckner led a balanced attack on Wednesday night, scoring a team-high 15 points.  Nathan Carbaugh (Fort Wayne, Ind. / North Side) scored a career-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting.  Jalmen Sullivan (Kankakee, Ill. / St. Anne) added 13 points.

With the loss, the Spartans fell to 5-9, 2-5 HCAC.  Anderson improved to 6-8, 5-2 HCAC.  The men will once again be on the road this coming Saturday January 12 when the team travels to Lexington, Kentucky for a matchup at Transylvania University.  Saturday's start time is scheduled for 3 p.m.