WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Manchester College men’s basketball team overcame a four-point deficit in the final 37 seconds to down Lawrence University 61-59 in a nonconference game Sunday.
The game was part of the Cruzin Classic and was played at Northwood University.
Tyler Crisman scored a game-high 19 points to pace Lawrence (4-4). Erik Borresen added 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Vikings. Chris Siebert added 10 points for the Vikings.
Tyler Henn led Manchester (6-3) with 17 points.
Crisman hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final 1:22 of the first half to give Lawrence its biggest lead of the game, 38-27, at the break.
The Spartans went on a 9-0 run to open the second half and cut the margin to 38-36 with 17:17 remaining. The teams then traded the lead midway through the second half.
Lawrence led 57-52 after Conor Klusendorf’s layup with 4:54 left. Neither team scored until Mitch Schaefer hit a 3-pointer with 2:43 left to cut the margin to 57-55.
The teams traded missed shots until Klusendorf was fouled with 48 seconds left. He made both free throws to give Lawrence a 59-55 lead.
Jordan Moss converted 1 of 2 free throws on the next possession for the Spartans with 37 seconds remaining. A turnover off a Henn steal gave the ball back to Manchester, and Nathan Ferch’s layup with 23 seconds left cut the lead to 59-58.
Henn stole the ball again, and he hit a layup with 11 seconds left to give Manchester a 60-59 lead. Crisman missed a 3-pointer for Lawrence with three seconds left and Ferch grabbed the rebound and seal the win.
Lawrence takes a break for the holidays and doesn’t return to action until it hosts Monmouth College in a Midwest Conference game on Jan. 5.