NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. - The Manchester men's basketball team picked up their third win in a row after defeating the Earlham College Quakers in HCAC play on Saturday, January 21. 

Manchester jumped out to an early lead in the opening half of Saturday's contest. Earlham would answer, and after a back-and-forth battle, the score was tied up 9-9 with 13:29 on the clock. Manchester would regain and maintain the lead through the remaining 13 minutes of the first half.

The Black and Gold would continue the strong offensive showing, extending their lead to 14 points thanks to a made jump shot by sophomore guard Quentez Columbus (South Bend, Ind., Adams) with 8:27 left to play. Manchester would narrowly outscore their opponents 44-43 in the second half and hold off the Quakers to take Saturday's game by a final score of 84-73. 

Bryant Smith (West Lafayette, Ind., Harrison) led the Spartans with a career-high 35 points, shooting 9-17 from the field, 5-9 from three-point range, and 12-14 from the free throw line. Zach Sawyer (Columbus, Ohio, Bishop Watterson) finished the afternoon with his third career double-double, scoring 20 points and pulling down 12 rebounds for Manchester. Logan Willoughby (Greenwood, Ind., Whiteland Community) added 14 points for the Black and Gold while Quentez Columbus had a team-high 6 assists. As a team, MU shot 47.4% (27-57) from the field, scoring 42 total points in the paint. 

The Quakers were led by James Holder with 17 points and 8 rebounds during Saturday's game. Jaden Terry added 13 points for Earlham while Tommy Makabu chipped in 12 points and 3 steals. As a team, the Quakers shot 43.8% from the field and 82.4% from the free throw line. 

Up next, Manchester men's and women's teams will travel to Transylvania University for another HCAC doubleheader on Wednesday, January 25. The women's basketball team will take-on the #2 ranked Pioneers at 1:00 p.m. with the men to follow at 3:00 p.m.