NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – Fifth-year senior CJ Hampton (Hammond, Ind./Griffith) became the 32^nd player in Manchester University men's basketball history to score 1,000 career points on Wednesday night as the Spartans took down the Bluffton Beavers by a final score of 84-69.

Sitting at 999 career points entering play on Wednesday, Hampton wasted no time in joining the 1,000 point club as he scored a driving layup on the third possession of the contest.

Visiting Bluffton kept pace with the Spartans through 20 minutes of play on Wednesday night inside of Stauffer-Wolfe Arena. The Beavers built as large as an eight-point lead in the period, however, Manchester was able to close the half with a strong burst and took a 43-40 lead into the locker room at halftime. First-year Bryant Smith (West Lafayette, Ind./Harrison) buried a triple just before the halftime buzzer to give the Spartans the narrow advantage.

After Bluffton shot a hot 55.2 percent (16-29) from the field in the opening half, the Spartans' defense clamped down and limited the Beavers to just 38.7 percent (12-31) shooting in the second period.

While Manchester's defense improved, its offense also got going in the 2^nd half. A 22-10 surge midway through the half gave control of the contest back over to the Black & Gold. The Spartans would build as much as a 19-point advantage in Wednesday's win. Manchester outscored Bluffton 41-29 in the 2nd half.

For the game, five Spartans scored in double figures. Brandon Christlieb (Ashley, Ind./Prairie Heights) led all scorers with 19 points. He added six rebounds and had a pair of emphatic dunks in transition. First-year Logan Willoughby (Greenwood, Ind./Whiteland Community) scored 17 points in 11 minutes off the bench. Willoughby shot a perfect 6-6 from the field and was a perfect 5-5 from three-point territory. Both CJ Hampton and Quentez Columbus (South Bend, Ind./Adams) scored 15 points apiece. Hampton grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists. Columbus added five assists and three steals. Ty Lynas (Crawfordsville, Ind./Crawfordsville) added 10 points.

The Spartans shot 53.4 percent (31-58) in Wednesday's win over Bluffton. Manchester also shot 11-29 from distance – good for 37.9 percent. Manchester also made good use of the foul line, making 11-of-13 attempts (84.6 percent). The Spartans were also able to convert 15 Bluffton turnovers into 25 points.

Bluffton was led by Marcus Bruns' 14 points and seven rebounds.

Manchester (7-9, 6-3 HCAC) will be back at home on Saturday January 22 against Earlham College. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Bluffton (5-8, 1-5 HCAC) will host Hanover College on Saturday January 22.