SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Manchester men's basketball team fell to Stevenson University in the opening game of the 2023 Wittenberg Holiday Classic by a final score of 90-88 on Tuesday, December 19.

Manchester and Stevenson battled back and forth, seeing five lead changes in the first half of Saturday night's contest. The Mustangs would take control in the final four minutes to take a 34-30 lead at the half. 

The Mustangs built a 54-38 lead in the second half, but the Spartans would rally from the 16-point deficit behind a 51.61% second-half shooting percentage to force the game into overtime. 

Manchester jumped out to a five-point lead with 1:17 on the clock in the extra session. Stevenson closed the game on a 7-0 run to pick up the victory.

Stevenson shot 52.2% (35-67) against the Spartans on Saturday. Four Mustangs finished with 20 or more points, including Cameron Smith with 22 points and Nate Arrington and Ronald Ayers with 20 each. 

As a team, Manchester shot 43.7% (31-71), pulled down 38 rebounds, and came away with five steals on Saturday. Leading the way for the Black and Gold was Zach Sawyer (Columbus, Ohio, Bishop Watterson) with a double-double with 29 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Bryant Smith (West Lafayette, Ind., Harrison) finished the night with 25 points and six rebounds, while Mitch Mendenhall (New Haven, Ind., Woodlan) added 18 points, shooting 3-6 from beyond the three-point arc.

Manchester men's basketball will face Muskingum in the consolation matchup of the Wittenberg Holiday Classic on December 20 at 2:30 p.m.