TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Manchester University Spartans' late rally on the road came up just short as the host Fightin' Engineers of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology edged the Black & Gold 73-69 in men's basketball action on Saturday, February 13.

After Rose-Hulman built a 66-56 advantage at the 3:33 mark of the second half, the Manchester Spartans used a 9-2 spurt to pull Saturday's contest to within a possession with just 59 seconds remaining.

A three-pointer by Brandon Christlieb (Ashley, Ind./Prairie Heights) jump started the late rally. Fellow freshman Jackson Jannsen (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) made a pair of free throws while senior Matt Westman (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) nailed a critical jumper. The late run was highlighted by a layup from Mitch Mendenhall (New Haven, Ind./Wooldan).

Needing a stop, the Spartans' defense forced a contested layup by Rose-Hulman's Max Chaplin to misfire, however 6-7 forward Jacob Back of RHIT was able to corral the ensuing rebound and laid the ball back in to put the Fightin Engineers ahead 70-65 with just 27 seconds remaining.

RHIT would get a stop on the next possession of the game to secure the win.

Manchester's offense heated up significantly from the night before. On Friday night, MU was held to 35.6% (21-59) shooting from the floor and 25.6% (11-43) shooting from three. The Black & Gold finished 26-51 from the floor on Saturday afternoon, good for 51%. The Spartans also finished 38.5% (10-26) from beyond the three-point arc.

Rose-Hulman finished 24-54 (44.4%) from the floor on Saturday. The Black & Gold held the Fightin' Engineers to just 8-27 (29.6%) shooting from downtown.

Rose-Hulman held a 40-21 advantage in rebounding. RHIT also went 17-21 from the free throw line, compared to Manchester's 7-12 mark.

Senior Cortiz Buckner (Lafayette, Ind./Lafayette Jefferson) matched a career-high on Saturday afternoon with 27 points on 12-14 shooting. Buckner added four assists and a pair of steals.

Fellow senior CJ Hampton (Hammond, Ind./Griffith) was the only other Spartan to score in double figures, finishing with 13 points. Hampton went 3-4 from three-point range and added five rebounds and four steals.

Isaac Farnsworth led three Engineers in double figures with 18 points. Craig McGee finished with a rare triple-double, ending the afternoon with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. 

Manchester will return to Stauffer-Wolfe Arena on Friday, February 19 against Franklin College. Tip against the Grizzlies is scheduled for 8 p.m.