NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Manchester University men's team fell in HCAC play to Transylvania University 77-62 on Saturday in Stauffer-Wolfe Arena.

The Spartans remained neck-and-neck with the Pioneers for a majority of Saturday's contest, before a late TU run broke the game open. Jalen Owens (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute) capped the first half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that put the Spartans ahead 42-39. It was Owens' second halftime buzzer-beater this season.

Overall, Manchester shot 38.5 percent (25-65) for the game and 27 percent (10-37) from behind the arc. MU was led in scoring by Matthew Westman (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) with 13 points. DeMoines Whitney (Detroit, Mich./Western International) added 11 points and five assists. Jalen Owens chipped in 10 points. CJ Hampton (Hammond, Ind./Griffith) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds for the Spartans.

For the Pioneers, four starters finished in double digits in scoring. Lucas Gentry led Transylvania with a double-double, finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Gabe Schmitt added 16 points. As a team, Transylvania shot 48.2 percent (27-56) from field-goal range and an impressive 55.6 percent (10-18) from downtown.

The Spartans moved to 8-15 overall, 6-10 in the HCAC following the loss. Transylvania jumped into a first-place tie with Franklin College, moving to 15-8 overall and 11-5 in the HCAC. Manchester will be back on the hardwood at conference rival Anderson University on Wednesday, February 19 with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.