BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Manchester University men's basketball team was able to overcome another double-digit deficit on the road on Wednesday night, rallying for a 52-48 victory at Bluffton. Earlier this month, the Spartans rallied from an early double-digit deficit at Earlham College.

Bluffton built a 17-7 advantage midway through the first half. The Beavers' extended their lead to 12 points, 25-13, with just over three minutes left to play in the opening period.

Manchester clawed back to within striking distance as the Black and Gold ended the half on a 7-3 run and trailed by just eight points, 28-20 at halftime.

Manchester cut its deficit to just two points, 36-34, following a pair of free throws by Jalen Owens (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute North) at the 12:51 mark of the second half. The Beavers scored the next five points to push their lead back up to seven points.

The Black and Gold used a 9-0 run over the next four minutes of action to wrestle control of Wednesday's game from Bluffton.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Matthew Westman (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) with 1:57 remaining put the Spartans ahead for good on Wednesday night. The Spartans were able to get several key stops defensively late and Keiton Hall (Lansing, Mich./Williamston) made two free throws with three seconds remaining to seal the win.

Westman led Manchester University with 16 points while Jalen Owens finished with 11 points off the bench. CJ Hampton (Hammond, Ind./Griffith) scored 10 points and grabbed seven rounds.

Noteworthy

Manchester handed Bluffton just its fourth loss in the Sommer Center in the past two years. Bluffton is now 17-4 at home since 2018.

Up Next

Manchester (6-10, 4-5 HCAC) will travel to Cincinnati on Saturday January 25 for a road matchup against Mount St. Joseph. Game time this weekend is set for 5 pm.

Bluffton fell to 8-8, 4-5 HCAC with the loss.