RICHMOND, Ind. — A second half surge was the difference on Wednesday night as the Earlham men's basketball team fell 81-57 to unbeaten Transylvania University.

The co-leaders in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Transylvania (5-0, 2-0) led 34-28 at halftime, but it was a 17-2 run to begin the second half that proved to be the difference. Transylvania led 51-30 with 13:43 left in the contest and the Pioneers were able to maintain the advantage the rest of the way.

The Quakers had two players in double figures in the contest on Schuckman Court in the Athletics and Wellness Center with Colton Bragg (Richmond, IN, Richmond) leading the way with 12 points.

Marcus Bledsoe (Indianapolis, IN, Ritter) added 10 points and a game-high seven rebounds.

Ryan Taylor (Martinsville, IN, Martinsville) finished with nine points with Marty Broderick (Mooresville, IN, Mooresville) and Desmond Adeniyi (Indianapolis, IN, Tindley) adding seven points each.

Tight First Half

Transylvania led 4-0 at the 16:28 mark of the opening period, but the Quakers fought back.

Broderick capped a rally with a basket at 15:30 to give the Quakers a 6-4 lead.

Taylor scored at 13:22 and the Quakers led 10-8. The Pioneers put together a 9-0 run to go on top 17-10 with 8:45 left in the first half.

The Quakers were able to close the gap to 20-16 when Dustin Rusk (Frankfort, IN, Clinton Prairie) drilled a 3-pointer with 7:08 on the clock.

Earlham was able to cut the deficit with the final four points in the first half to trail 34-28 at intermission.

The Quakers (0-8, 0-2) return to action on Saturday at home against Franklin College. The HCAC game is scheduled to get underway at 3 p.m.

Box Score