NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. - The Manchester University men's basketball team honored its three seniors prior to Friday night's game against Franklin.

The Black & Gold honored Cortiz Buckner, CJ Hampton, and Matt Westman with a small, on-court ceremony before Friday's game.

Once the ball was tipped, the visiting Grizzlies and host Spartans engaged in a fast-paced contest that saw Franklin outgun Manchester 88-76.

The Grizzlies were difficult to stop as Franklin connected on 32 of its 57 field goal attempts on Friday night – good for a 56.1% clip. FC also shot 9-of-16 (56.3%) from three-point territory and went 15-of-18 (83.3%) from the free throw line.

Manchester was able to keep pace with the Grizzlies, however the Black & Gold were never quite able to fully overcome Franklin on Friday night. The Spartans shot 50% (28-56) from the floor and drained 14 three-pointers.

Franklin held a 34-24 advantage in the rebounding department and converted 13 Spartan turnovers into 17 points.

Freshman Brandon Christlieb (Ashely, Ind./Prairie Heights) led MU with 22 points. Christlieb finished Friday's game 6-of-9 from beyond the three-point arc. Seniors CJ Hampton (Hammond, Ind./Griffith) and Cortiz Buckner (Lafayette, Ind./Lafayette Jefferson) both scored 13 points. Hampton added eight rebounds while Buckner dished out four assists.

Jackson Jannsen (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) added 11 points while Matt Westman (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) chipped in 10 points and five rebounds.

Ty Wright led five Grizzlies in double figures with 20 points.

Up Next:

Manchester and Franklin will meet tomorrow on the campus of Franklin College. Game time between the Spartans and Grizzlies is scheduled for 5 p.m.