DECATUR, ILL. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology placed three players in double figures and relied on a strong defensive effort to top Millikin University 64-55 in men's college basketball action on Monday night.
Senior Julian Strickland (Indianapolis/Pike) led a balanced scoring attack with 19 points on 10-12 from the free throw line and contributed eight rebounds and four assists.
Sophomore Jimmy Miller (Indianapolis/North Central) added 11 points and eight rebounds, while senior Jordy Martin (New Albany) contributed three treys among his 11-point performance.
Other key contributors to the Rose-Hulman attack included sophomore Tyler Duffy (Fishers/Hamilton Southeastern) with six points, three reboundss and three assists; junior Corey Povaleri (Deputy/Madison) with five points off the bench; and senior Alec Houpt (Chesterton) with four points and six rebounds.
Rose-Hulman led 55-44 after two Strickland free throws at the 8:03 mark, before Millikin closed to within four points at 55-51 with a 7-0 run capped by two free throws from Jaylon Owens at the 4:07 mark.
One free throw from Miller and another by Strickland, along with five straight defensive stops by the Rose-Hulman defense, helped extend the lead to 60-53 with 1:36 left. Strickland and Duffy then added two more free throws each to secure the margin of victory.
Deavis Johnson scored 13 points to lead the Millikin offensive effort, and Tives Gardner also had a double-figure scoring performance with 10.
Millikin jumped out to an early 11-6 lead, before a three-pointer by senior James Pillischafske (Louisville, Ky./Male) brought the deficit within 13-11 at the 11:33 mark of the first half. After three ties, Martin gave Rose-Hulman the lead for good at 28-25 with a three-pointer at the 1:44 mark.
The Big Blue rallied to within three points at 33-30 on a Johnson score at the 17:57 mark, but Rose-Hulman answered with a 13-4 run to push the lead into double figures at 46-34 following four points from Miller and a layup by Povaleri.
Rose-Hulman improved to 4-3 on the season, while Millikin dropped to 5-3. The Fightin' Engineers hit the road for DePauw University on Wednesday night.
