WESTERVILLE, Ohio - The MU men's basketball team picked-up its sixth straight win after a thrilling comeback victory over Penn State Behrend during the first round of the Smokey Ballenger Classic on Thursday, December 29th. 

MU took an early seven-point lead with 16:03 minutes left in the first half. The Lions would answer back, taking the lead with 13:03 on the clock. Penn State Behrend maintained the lead throughout the first half of play, entering halftime up 44-35.

A made three-point shot by Ty Lynas (Crawfordsville, Ind., Crawfordsville) put Manchester up 73-72 with 31 seconds left in the game. Four made free throws by Zach Sawyer (Columbus, Ohio, Bishop Watterson) and Mitch Mendenhall (New Haven, Ind., Woodlan) would secure the victory for the Spartans after a 32-10 run in the last 11:20 of play to erase an 18-point deficit. 

Lynas led the Spartans with a career-high 23 points during Thursday's contest, shooting 4-6 from three-point range. Bryant Smith (West Lafayette, Ind., Harrison) finished the afternoon with 22 points, shooting 6-8 from beyond the three-point arc. Quentez Columbus (South Bend, Ind., Adams) added 12 points and 6 rebounds for the Black and Gold while Logan Willoughby (Greenwood, Ind., Whiteland Community) had a team-high 6 assists during Thursday's contest. As a team, Manchester shot 46.0% (29-63) from the field, 42.3% (11-26) from three-point range, and 61.5% (8-13) from the free throw line. MU improves to 6-4 on the season. 

Stefan Milinkovic led the Lions with 17 points, shooting 7-8 from field goal range. RJ Marsh added 12 points and a team-high 12 rebounds for Penn State Behrend while Matt Niland chipped in 11 points. As a team, the Lions shot 46.4% (26-56) from the field, 33.3% (9-27) from three-point range, and 63.2% (12-19) from the free throw line. Penn State Behrend falls to 4-6 overall with the loss. 

Manchester will compete in the Smokey Ballenger Classic Championship Game on Friday, December 30th. The Spartans will tip-off against host Otterbein University at 2:00 p.m.