NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. - Manchester University first-year Blake Shewmaker (Bargersville, Greenwood Christian Academy) hit a late three-point jump shot to lead the Spartans to an 84-82 victory over the visiting Anderson University Ravens on Wednesday, January 10. With the win, the Spartans improved to 8-6 overall and 5-2 in HCAC play.

The Ravens took an eight point lead, their largest lead of the game, after the opening eight and half minutes of the first half on Wednesday night. Manchester would answer, tying the score at 19 apiece with 8:25 on the clock. Throughout the last eight of the second half, the game was either tied or MU led by a margin of eight points. The Black and Gold closed out the first half on top 34-33.

The back-and-forth battle continued throughout the second half, with the largest lead coming from Anderson at 47-42 at the 16:06 mark. The Ravens took a three-point lead with just over a minute left in the second half. Austin Willoughby (Greenwood, Ind., Whiteland Community) made a layup to bring the Spartans within one, but the Ravens would answer with a two-point shot to take an 82-79 advantage with just 41 seconds left to play. Manchester brought the game within one-point thanks to a made jump by Zach Sawyer (Columbus, Ohio, Bishop Watterson) in the paint. After a missed free-throw by the Ravens, the Spartans quickly brought the ball down the court where Blake Shewmaker would drain a three-point shot put the Spartans on top by two-points with just two seconds left on the clock. Manchester would hang on to take Wednesday night's game by a final score of 84-82. In total, the Spartans and Ravens saw 21 lead changes and 12 tied scores during Wednesday night's contest.

Four Spartans scored in double-digits on Wednesday night with Mitch Mendenhall (New Haven, Ind., Woodlan) leading the Black and Gold with a career-high 19 points. Mendenhall also pulled down seven rebounds and had two steals. Sawyer finished the night with a double-double after scoring 17 points and dealing out 18 assists. Sawyer also collected a team-high nine rebounds on Wednesday. Bryant Smith (West Lafayette, Ind., Harrison) added 15 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks, while Shewmaker finished with 10 points and four rebounds. As a team, Manchester shot 43.4% (33-76) from the field, 47.6% (10-21) from three-point range, and 80% (8-10) from the free throw line.

The Ravens were led by Kenney Troutman with 19 points, Cam Smith with 16 points, and Bryson Huckeby with 15 points and 12 rebounds. As a team, Anderson shot 44.4% (32-72) from the floor, 33.3% (10-30) from three-point range, and 80% (8-10) from the free throw line. With the loss, the Ravens fall to 10-4, 5-2 HCAC.

The Manchester men's basketball team will travel to Earlham College on Saturday, January 13 for an HCAC game day in Richmond, Ind. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.