FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Manchester University men's basketball team dropped a road Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game at Franklin College on Saturday February 8. The Grizzlies overpowered the Spartans in the second half en route to an 84-61 victory.

After by trailing by as much as nine in the early stages of the first half, the Spartans clawed back to within striking distance just before the intermission. A free throw by freshman Eli Housley (Cincinnati, Ohio/Taft) tied the game at 35 with 45 seconds left in the period. The Grizzlies banked home a layup with 8 ticks on the clock to lead 37-35 at the break.

Manchester shot 43 percent (12-28) from the field in the first half and made six triples. Franklin went 14-34 (41.2 percent) from the floor in the opening period but was limited to just 4-15 (26.7 percent) shooting from 3-point territory by the Manchester defense.

Franklin quickly regained momentum following the break with a 10-2 run to start the second half. The FC offense was difficult to contain as the Grizzlies would outscore the Spartans 47-26 in the second period.

FC shot 14-26 (54 percent) over the second 20 minutes of play and made six 3-pointers following the intermission. The Grizzlies also made good use of the foul line in Saturday's game, finishing 18-21 (85.7 percent) at the charity stripe.

Manchester finished Saturday's game 23-59 from the field for 39 percent.

CJ Hampton (Hammond, Ind./Griffith) led MU with 20 points and seven boards. Matthew Westman (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) added 13 points. Both Abdul Ogunnaike (Richton Park, Ill/Thornwood) and DeMoines Whitney (Detroit, Mich./Western International) grabbed seven rebounds.

The Spartans fell to 8-13, 6-8 HCAC on the year. Franklin ended a three-game losing streak and moved to 14-7, 10-4 HCAC.

Manchester will return home on Wednesday February 12 to take on the Bluffton Beavers at 7:30 p.m. in Stauffer-Wolfe Arena.