CINCINNATI, Ohio - Manchester's second-half rally fell just short at Mount St. Joseph as the Lions were able to outlast the Spartans 77-73 in men's basketball action on Saturday, January 7. 

Mount St. Joseph took control of the game early, starting the first half on a 15-5 run. The Lions' defense held off the Spartans, as MSJ shot 55% from the field and 47% from three-point range to take the 44-20 lead at halftime. 

Trailing by as much as 29 in the second half, the Spartans would answer, putting together a 16-2 run to cut the deficit to four points with 2:19 left on the clock. MU forced 15 turnovers in the second half, leading to 21 points during their late second half rally. Manchester outscored Mount St. Joseph 53-33 in the second half of Saturday's game, the Lions were able to hang on and secure their third consecutive HCAC win, defeating Manchester 77-73. 

Kelvin Turner led the Lions with 24 points, shooting 5-7 from three-point range. Jack Kolar added 13 points for MSJ while Dayne Gardner chipped in 10 points during Saturday's contest. As a team, Mount St. Joseph shot 53.2% from the field, 54.2% from beyond the three-point arc, and 66.7% from the free throw line. MSJ improved to 5-8, 4-2 HCAC following Saturday's win. 

Sophomore guard Quentez Columbus (South Bend, Ind., Adams) led the Black and Gold with 18 points and 4 steals on the afternoon. Four other Spartans hit the double-digit mark in scoring on Saturday, including Ty Lynas (Crawfordsville, Ind., Crawfordsville) with 15, Bryant Smith (West Lafayette, Ind., Harrison) with 12, and Zach Sawyer (Columbus, Ohio, Bishop Watterson) and Mike Elliott (Indianapolis, Ind., North Central) with 11 points each. Coy Hampton (Park Forest, Ill., Crete Monee) pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds for MU. As a team, Manchester shot 37.7% from the field, 34.3% from three-point range, and 60.0% from the free throw line. The Spartans fall to 6-7, 4-2 HCAC with the loss. 

Up next, Manchester men's basketball will look to get back into the win column as they travel to Rose-Hulman on Wednesday, January 11. Tip-off between the Spartans and Fightin' Engineers is set for 7:30 p.m. in Terre Haute, Ind.