Box Score

N. MANCHESTER, Ind. - Transylvania senior Chris Owens scored 17 points Saturday, including four crucial free throws in the final half-minute, as the Pioneers topped Manchester 68-62 in Heartland Conference men's basketball thriller.

The Pioneers remain unbeaten at 6-0, 3-0 HCAC, while the Spartans are 3-6, 1-2 in conference play.

Transy used an 8-0 run to break a 54-54 tie and take the lead for good. Owens canned a three to give the Pioneers a 57-54 lead with three minutes to play and Barrett Meyer, who also had 17 points, followed suit. Brandon Rash (11 points, four rebounds) was perfect on two free throw attempts at the 1:19 mark making it 62-54, the biggest lead either team would enjoy during the back and forth contest.

Manchester rallied to get within a bucket, 62-60, before Owens stepped to the line with 32 seconds left and drained both tries. He got two more with 10 ticks left on the clock to clinch it for the Pioneers. He was sent to the line a final time with a second to go and he made two more.

The game was tied on a dozen occasions and there were 15 lead changes.

Transy shot 50 percent for the game and was 12 of 25 behind the arc. Manchester connected at a 49 percent clipi and was 10 of 21 from long range.

Jordan Moss had 17 points to tie Meyer and Owens for game scoring honors.

Neither team led by more than five points in the first half, which ended with the Pioneers on top, 32-31. Transy hit 48 percent of its field goal attempts in the half while the Spartans were at 45.5 percent. Included in Transy's effort was a six for 13 showing from behind the three-point arc.

Tate Cox had eight points to lead Transy while Taylor Botkin came off the bench to toss in six. Moss led Manchester with 12 points.

Transy returns to the court on Saturday, hosting HCAC foe Bluffton in a 4 p.m. match.