Dalton Christopher
Assistant Athletic Director - Communications & Media
dchristopher@transy.edu

NORTH MANCHESER, IN - Five Pioneers reached double digit scoring en route to Translyvania's fourth straight victory, defeating Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) opponent Manchester University. 

The Pioneers started the afternoon with a 7-0 run as Colby Napier's three-point field goal and back to back jump shots for Hunter Penn and Dakota Capps got the action underway. A basket at the rim for Capps pushed the lead to double digits for Transylvania at the 07:43 mark. Hunter Penn's lay up, followed by free-throws from Brandon Rowe and another three-point field goal in the final seconds for Napier gave the Pioneers a 20 point half time lead. 

Transylvania carried their offensive performance in the second half, Ian Reesor's back to back three-pointers in the opening minutes of the final half gave the Pioneers a 21 point advantage. Hunter Barr's trip to the free-throw line gave the Pioneers their largest lead of the afternoon at 26, 67-41. The Pioneers maintained their advantage in the second half with Ben Godby's basket at the rim closing the victory for Transylvania, 91-70. 

Five Pioneers reached double figure scoring led by Hunter Penn (18 points, six rebounds), Jaxon Smith (13 points), Colby Napier (12 points), Hunter Barr (12 points) and Drew Marshall (10 points). 

Key Stats

- Transylvania outscored Manchester 19-1 in second chance opportunities. 
- The Pioneers outscored Manchester in bench scoring, 32-14. 
- Transylvania won the battle in the post, outscoring Manchester 48-18 in the paint. 

Head Coach Brian Lane was happy to see the strong start from the Pioneers in the first half. 

"We got off to a really fast start by force feeding Penn inside," said Lane. "We had a size advantage that we needed to exploit. That was our best half of defense all year, holding a team that averages 86 points to just 20 points. Jaxon Smith gave us a huge lift knocking down the three while continuing to be one of our tougher defenders. It is great to see Barr getting back to playing at a high level after knee surgery. His aggressiveness got him to the foul line 12 times in just over 11 minutes."

Up next for Transylvania is the Don Lane Classic at the Clive M. Beck Center on Saturday and Sunday, December 21st and 22nd. Transylvania opens against the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Transylvania University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the HCAC. To keep up to date with all of Transylvania Athletics, check out our website at www.transysports.com and follow @TransySports on Instagram.