NORTH MANCHESTER, IND. – Freshman guard Chase Casteel (Monrovia, Ind.) came off the bench to drill three three-pointers, grab five rebounds and tally a team-high 13 points, highlighting Manchester University's 2013-14 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference opener Wednesday, Dec. 4.

Playing in front of a loud home crowd at Stauffer-Wolfe Arena, MU (1-6 overall, 0-1 HCAC) kept it close with the unbeaten Yellowjackets of Defiance College (5-0, 1-0 HCAC) early. The contest was tied three times and was just a one-point affair (13-12) inside the nine-minute mark. However, the visitors turned to the hot hand of junior forward Bernard Edwards, took off a game-deciding 29-6 run from that point.

Defiance held as big as a 24-point advantage in the second half. The Spartans, thanks to Casteel's three-point prowess, whittled away at the deficit and cut it to as low as 15 on a few occasions down the stretch but couldn't get any closer. DC closed with a 67-48 decision.

Edwards led all scorers with 31 points which included seven three-point baskets. Casteel's total led MU, while sophomore guard Brady Dolezal (Tipton, Ind.) was just off double digits behind nine points. Sophomore forward Jarod Schrock (Logansport, Ind.) resumed his impressive season start with eight points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals.

MU opens a three-game road set Saturday, Dec. 7, traveling to Earlham College for an HCAC match-up.

NOTES: The Black and Gold freshman class continues to turn heads early in 2013-14. They've topped the scoring charts in three successive games … Casteel registered his third double-figure effort of the season.