DEFIANCE, OHIO – Senior forward Matt Brown picked a good time to add a little more personal history to his Manchester University career Wednesday. He rattled off his second 30-points-plus collegiate effort, tallying a game-high 34 on a blistering 10-of-13 pace from the field, good for 76.9 percent, while hitting four-of-five three-point attempts and going 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Due to that points’ line and a team-high six rebounds, the Spartans upended co-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference leading Defiance College 79-60 at DC’s Karl H. Weaner Center. MU, moving to 12-12 overall and 9-8 in the league, was down 6-2 early on but used a 17-5 run to build an eight-point lead midway through the first half that they wouldn’t relinquish. DC closed to within one twice from that point on but, at each turn, the Black and Gold had an answer, mostly in the form of Brown. The senior wasn’t the only MU player etching his name in double digits, though, as sophomore guard Brody Kirby ended with 13, and freshman forward/center Evan Romie added 12 points and a pair of steals and assists. The victory kept Coach Gerad Good’s squad firmly in the league’s postseason tournament picture, as it, added with losses for Transylvania University and Anderson University, helped them climb into a three-way tie for fifth with the Pioneers and Ravens with one game remaining. MU wraps up the regular season taking another critical road trip, this time to Lexington, Ky., for a clash with the Pioneers. Tipoff time at TU’s Beck Center is 3 p.m. NOTES: Brown’s point total marked a single-season individual best for Manchester University. It was the program’s fourth 30-points-plus effort this year, as freshman guard Adrian Johnson had the other three … Romie continues to impress down the stretch. He’s reeled off double-digit point efforts in two of his last three outings while grabbing a combined seven rebounds and hitting 50 percent or better overall and from beyond the arc in every game of the span … MU’s win at Defiance ended an eight-game skid in the series. MANCHESTER 79, DEFIANCE 60 M 33 46 – 79 D 30 30 – 60 Manchester – Adrian Johnson 1-8 4-6 6, Mbaye Samb 1-4 0-0 2, Chase Casteel 1-3 0-0 3, Evan Romie 4-7 2-2 12, Enis Becirevic 2-3 0-0 4, Brody Kirby 6-9 1-1 13, Blake Brouwer 0-1 0-0 0, Brady Dolezal 2-4 1-3 5, Matt Brown 10-13 10-11 34. Totals 27-52 18-23 79. Defiance – Michael Parker 4-14 1-1 10, Blake Dunbar 1-5 2-2 4, Tyler Alexander 6-12 1-3 13, Chris Hlmes 1-5 1-2 3, Wade Wooley 7-10 3-4 17, Devin Mangas 5-9 0-0 13, Adam Ney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-55 8-12 60. Three-pointers – Manchester 7 (Brown 4, Romie 2, Casteel), Defiance 4 (Mangas 3, Parker); Rebounds – Manchester 24 (Brown 6), Defiance 39 (Wooley 13); Turnovers – Manchester 8, Defiance 18; Fouls – Manchester 15, Defiance 15; Technical fouls – Manchester bench, Defiance bench; Fouled out – none; Records – Manchester 12-12 (9-8 HCAC), Defiance 14-10 (12-5 HCAC)
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL DEFIANCE 66, MANCHESTER 51 NORTH MANCHESTER – Manchester University got off to a flying start against visiting Defiance College in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action Wednesday. The Spartans hit just under 50 percent from the field overall (48.5), were red hot from outside the arc (4 of 6) and hit on three of their four free throw tries to help build as large as a nine-point advantage in the opening frame. However, the second half saw the opposite effect for the home side, as they struggled, going only five-of-34 (14.7 percent) total and hitting just one of 11 three-point tries while the visiting Yellow Jackets took off on a 30-12 final 20 minutes’ roll to claim a 66-51 decision at Stauffer-Wolfe Arena. Sophomore forward Tori Christlieb led the way for the Black and Gold (6-18 overall, 4-13 HCAC) with an 11-point, nine-rebound effort. Freshman forward/center Maddy Minehart was next in line scoring-wise with nine, while junior guard Jenifer Lee and freshman guard Faith-Alexis Graham tallied seven points each. Lee also added a team-best three assists to her stat line. The Spartans conclude the 2015-16 campaign at 1 p.m. Saturday when they travel to Transylvania University. NOTES: Christlieb was just a rebound off her third double-double of the season....Lee continued a solid late-season roll, too. She’s tallied five-points or more in nine of the last 10 contests, multiple assists three times and multiple steals four times in the stretch. DEFIANCE 66, MANCHESTER 51 D 19 17 12 18 – 66 M 22 17 6 6 – 51 Defiance – Erica Smay 0-2 2-2 2, Ashley Williams 0-5 0-0 0, Kelsey Tietje 11-18 9-9 31, Whitney Schalk 1-4 1-1 3, Sam Ervin 7-10 6-9 20, Mekai White 0-1 0-0 0, Keri Conine 3-8 0-2 6, Shelby Stamm 0-1 0-0 0, Brittany Osborne 0-2 0-0 0, Abby Sarabia 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 24-54 18-23 66. Manchester – Faith-Alexis Graham 3-8 0-0 7, Justine Kruger 1-7 0-0 2, Samantha Bolen 1-6 1-2 3, Katie Arterburn 2-9 0-0 6, Tori Christlieb 4-10 2-2 11, Isabella Zoog 1-4 0-1 2, Beth Schaefer 2-8 0-0 4, Jenifer Lee 3-9 0-0 7, Maddy Minehart 4-6 1-1 9. Totals 21-67 4-6 51. Three-pointers – Defiance 0, Manchester 5 (Arterburn 2, Graham, Christlieb, Lee); Rebounds – Defiance 45 (Tietje 15). Manchester 37 (Christlieb 9); Turnovers – Defiance 13, Manchester 12; Fouls – Defiance 11, Manchester 22; Fouled out – Christlieb; Records – Defiance 6-17 (5-11 HCAC), Manchester 6-17 (4-12 HCAC)
