DEFIANCE, OHIO – Senior forward Matt Brown (Hobart, Ind.) picked a good time to add a little more personal history to his Manchester University career Wednesday, Feb. 17.
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 (Frankfort, Ind.) ended with 13, and freshman forward/center Evan Romie (Anna, Ohio) 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 (Indianapolis, Ind.) 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.