Photo by Nick Rush - Rose-Hulman Athletics

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Manchester University men's basketball team was defeated on the road by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 71-60 on Wednesday night in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action.

The short-handed Spartans played well in the opening half and led 32-28 at the intermission after holding the host Fightin' Engineers to 0-12 shooting from beyond the three-point arc.

The Spartans connected on six triples over the game's opening 20 minutes and finished the 1^st half shooting 43.3 percent (13-30) from the field.

Rose-Hulman was able to wear the Spartans down in the 2^nd half as the Fightin' Engineers held the Spartans to 29.4 percent (10-34) shooting from the field. Rose-Hulman heated up offensively over the game's final 20 minutes, connecting on 47.2 percent of its field goal attempts (17-36).

For the contest, Manchester finished 23-64 from the field and 11-38 from three-point distance. Rose-Hulman ended Wednesday's game shooting 30-74 from the field and 3-23 from downtown.

First-year Quentez Columbus (South Bend, Ind./Adams) led the Black & Gold with 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Fellow first-year Ty Lynas (Crawfordsville, Ind./Crawfordsville) chipped in 16 points and four boards.

The Spartans (8-13, 7-7 HCAC) are slated to return to action on Saturday February 12 at home against Hanover College. Game time against the Panthers is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Rose-Hulman improved to 12-8, 8-6 HCAC on the season.