NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind.-- The Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers men's basketball team rallied from an early deficit to close within one possession late, before Manchester picked up an 83-77 victory in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference opener on Wednesday night. 

Craig McGee was able to lead the Engineers offensively with 21 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.  John Czarnecki added 11 points and eight rebounds, and Jacob Back was also able to reach double figures with 10 points and four rebounds.  

Manchester led 32-30 at the half, and Rose-Hulman took the lead at 46-45 with 13:00 left.  The Spartans led much of the rest of the way, before a McGee layup at the 1:02 mark brought Rose-Hulman within 77-74.

Manchester hit several free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.  Keiton Hall led the Spartans with 21 points.

Manchester improved to 3-3 overall and 1-0 in league play, while Rose-Hulman dropped to 2-5 and 0-1.  Rose-Hulman will host Defiance College on Saturday, 12/7 at 3:00 PM.