NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Calvin men's basketball team improved to 2-1 on the year with a victory at Manchester University on Tuesday evening. The Knights defeated the Spartans, 89-77.

"I thought that we started off slow with some turnovers, some missed free throws and missed layups," said head coach Kevin Vande Streek. "In the second half we did a better job in those areas and we stayed patient. Manchester is an experienced and a good team. We were able to grind it out today and it was fun."

The two teams found themselves in a tight fought battle for the majority of the game, neither team had a lead greater than five points until 9:51 left in the second half. With the Knights leading, 53-52, Calvin would go on a 9-0 run behind seven points from senior Austin Parks (Niles, Mich./Niles). Calvin would not look from there and would control the remainder of the game.

The Knights were anchored by career-high scoring performances by Austin Parks with 21 points and junior Nate Drews (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Hills Lutheran) with 17 points.

Senior Jordan Daley (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) had 15 points and six rebounds in the victory.

Junior Michael Welch (Stevensville, Mich./Lakeshore) led Calvin with nine rebounds and junior Cameron Denney (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell) had four of the eight Calvin assists on Tuesday.

The Knights outrebounded the Spartans, 34-27.

The Calvin bench scored 35 points on Tuesday night.

The Knights return to action on Friday as they travel to Cornerstone for the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame Classic. The Calvin/Cornerstone game is set to tip at 8 p.m.