Manchester Basketball Tops Rose-Hulman
December 5, 2019 at 3:33 a.m.

Manchester Basketball Tops Rose-Hulman
By Dillon Bender-
Rose-Hulman jumped on the Spartans early on Wednesday night, gaining an 10-4 advantage four minutes into the ballgame. The Spartans responded with a 9-2 run to grab a one-point lead, 13-12, at the 13:11 mark of the first half. The Fightin' Engineers went back in front by five, 21-16, following a free throw by Taylor Heil with 9:39 left in the opening period. Both teams remained gridlocked for nearly three minutes.
Senior Keiton Hall (Lansing, Mich./Williamston) broke the offensive drought for both teams and spurred a 12-2 Manchester run with a layup and a jumper. CJ Hampton (Hammond, Ind./Griffith) chipped in a jumper while Jalen Owens (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute North) converted a pair of free throws and Abdul Ogunnaike (Richton Park, Ill./Thornwood) buried a three-pointer.
Manchester led 32-30 at the break.
Both teams traded leads over the first 10 minutes of play in the second half, with neither side gaining more than a six-point advantage. A 9-2 flurry midway through the second half put the Spartans ahead 55-48. Manchester would not trail the remainder of the game. A pair of Cortiz Buckner (West Lafayette, Ind./Lafayette Jefferson) pushed gave MU its largest lead of the game with 7:37 left to play.
Rose-Hulman managed to push the Spartans down the stretch, clawing back to within three points, 77-74, with just over a minute left in the game.
The Spartans broke Rose-Hulman's full court pressure and Cortiz Buckner found DeMoines Whitney (Detroit, Mich./Western International) open for a layup push the score to 79-74. After an RHIT misfire, the Spartans secured the rebound and Keiton Hall iced the game with a pair of free throws.
Hall knocked down five three-points and finished with a game-high 21 points to lead the Spartans. CJ Hampton posted his fifth career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. DeMoines Whitney finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. Cortiz Buckner also contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.
The Spartans were boosted by the bench play of Jalen Owens. Owens finished with a career-high 12 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor and 5-of-6 shooting from the foul line. Owens chipped in a career-high four assists and was active defensively.
RHIT was led by Craig McGee's 21 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
Manchester shot 50% 28-of-56) from the field and knocked down 11 three-pointers. Rose-Hulman was held to 31-of-74 (41.9%) shooting for the game.
Manchester improved to 3-3 on the season and sits 1-0 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. The Fightin’ Engineers fell to 2-5, 0-1 HCAC on the year.
Manchester will travel to Hanover College on Saturday December 7 for its next contest. Game time against the Panthers is set for 3 p.m.
Rose-Hulman jumped on the Spartans early on Wednesday night, gaining an 10-4 advantage four minutes into the ballgame. The Spartans responded with a 9-2 run to grab a one-point lead, 13-12, at the 13:11 mark of the first half. The Fightin' Engineers went back in front by five, 21-16, following a free throw by Taylor Heil with 9:39 left in the opening period. Both teams remained gridlocked for nearly three minutes.
Senior Keiton Hall (Lansing, Mich./Williamston) broke the offensive drought for both teams and spurred a 12-2 Manchester run with a layup and a jumper. CJ Hampton (Hammond, Ind./Griffith) chipped in a jumper while Jalen Owens (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute North) converted a pair of free throws and Abdul Ogunnaike (Richton Park, Ill./Thornwood) buried a three-pointer.
Manchester led 32-30 at the break.
Both teams traded leads over the first 10 minutes of play in the second half, with neither side gaining more than a six-point advantage. A 9-2 flurry midway through the second half put the Spartans ahead 55-48. Manchester would not trail the remainder of the game. A pair of Cortiz Buckner (West Lafayette, Ind./Lafayette Jefferson) pushed gave MU its largest lead of the game with 7:37 left to play.
Rose-Hulman managed to push the Spartans down the stretch, clawing back to within three points, 77-74, with just over a minute left in the game.
The Spartans broke Rose-Hulman's full court pressure and Cortiz Buckner found DeMoines Whitney (Detroit, Mich./Western International) open for a layup push the score to 79-74. After an RHIT misfire, the Spartans secured the rebound and Keiton Hall iced the game with a pair of free throws.
Hall knocked down five three-points and finished with a game-high 21 points to lead the Spartans. CJ Hampton posted his fifth career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. DeMoines Whitney finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. Cortiz Buckner also contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.
The Spartans were boosted by the bench play of Jalen Owens. Owens finished with a career-high 12 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor and 5-of-6 shooting from the foul line. Owens chipped in a career-high four assists and was active defensively.
RHIT was led by Craig McGee's 21 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
Manchester shot 50% 28-of-56) from the field and knocked down 11 three-pointers. Rose-Hulman was held to 31-of-74 (41.9%) shooting for the game.
Manchester improved to 3-3 on the season and sits 1-0 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. The Fightin’ Engineers fell to 2-5, 0-1 HCAC on the year.
Manchester will travel to Hanover College on Saturday December 7 for its next contest. Game time against the Panthers is set for 3 p.m.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092