TERRE HAUTE, IND. – Three Manchester University players tallied double figures to lead the way on its final road trip of the 2016-17 regular season.

The Spartans, giving Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Rose-Hulman all it could handle at Hulbert Arena, received 19 points each from what's become an effective one-two combination of senior guard Tyler Alexander (Indianapolis, Ind.) and sophomore guard Adrian Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) for Coach Gerad Good's side. Junior guard Kenny Doss (Chicago, Ill.) came off the bench to add 15 points.

Even with that balance that helped send the Black and Gold (7-16 overall, 5-11 HCAC) to 79 points in front of a partisan Fightin' Engineer crowd, the final amount was just a point short. Rose-Hulman, who had built as large as a 17-point first half, weathered a second half rally by the visitors that gave them a 77-76 edge with just over a minute remaining by scoring four of the final six points for an 80-79 decision.

Despite a fifth loss in its last six outings, MU remains a strong part of the league postseason tournament picture going into the regular season's final week. The Spartans, tied with Bluffton University and Defiance College for the sixth and final slot, host DC in a pivotal match-up Wednesday, Feb. 15, at Stauffer-Wolfe Arena. Tip-off time is 8 p.m.