RICHMOND, Ind. – Adrian Johnson tallied 33 points as Manchester forced overtime and edged the Earlham College men's basketball team in the extra session for a 76-74 win over the Quakers in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) action at Schuckman Court on Saturday.
Trailing by two, Johnson drove into the lane and hit a layup to tie the game 66-66 with 13 seconds to play. Earlham had a chance to win it in regulation, but the Quakers were whistled for an offensive foul.
Earlham began the overtime period with three consecutive turnovers. Manchester took advantage as the Spartans scored the first six points in overtime. Trailing 72-66, Earlham head coach Jason Polykoff elected to use the Quakers' lone timeout with 3:07 to play in overtime.
Junior Kamari Hunter rattled home a floater from the elbow on the ensuing possession. After a free throw put Manchester back up five points, freshman Isaiah Waire converted the old-fashioned three-point play to pull Earlham within two points at 73-71. The Spartans failed to score on their next possession, and sophomore Elijah Wilson-Thomas capitalized by nailing a triple from the top of the arc to give the Quakers their first lead in overtime.
With the shot clock winding down on the next possession, Chase Casteel nailed a deep three-pointer to put Manchester back on top 76-74. Both teams had two more possessions, but neither could convert.
Wilson-Thomas finished with 24 points on 8-13 shooting from the field including 6-9 from beyond the arc. Senior Taylen Alexander finished with 18 points and eight rebounds while Hunter added 11 points and two assists. Waire, who played a team-high 42 minutes, tallied eight points and dished out seven assists.
Along with Johnson's 33-point, 10-assist performance, Matt Brown added 17 points. The two combined for 66 percent of Manchester's offense.
Earlham shot 51 percent (27-53) from the field while Manchester was not far behind at an even 50 percent (31-62). The Quakers connected on 11-23 triples tries while the Spartans finished 8-21 from long distance.
The home squad held a slight edge in rebounding, 31-29, while the visitors had the advantage in assists, 17-16.
Earlham is on the road for both games next week, at Transylvania on Wednesday and at Franklin on Saturday.