TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology sophomore Jimmy Miller (Indianapolis/North Central) scored a career-high 32 points, and the Fightin' Engineers earned their eighth straight men's basketball victory by a 74-56 count over Franklin College.
Miller finished 9-12 from the field and 11-12 from the free throw line with seven rebounds in the first 30-point game of his career. He also became the first player on the current roster other than preseason All-American Julian Strickland to record a 30-point game.
Strickland provided 17 points and six rebounds of his own on 7-15 shooting with two assists and two steals. Sophomore Tyler Duffy (Fishers/Hamilton Southeastern) also reached double figures with 10 points and four assists.
Senior Alec Houpt (Chesterton) pitched in with seven points and a career-high 10 rebounds, including five offensive boards, for Rose-Hulman.
Bailey Howard returned after missing the last two games due to injury to lead the Franklin offense with 17 points. Terry Sargent also reached double figures with 11 points for the Grizzlies.
Rose-Hulman and Franklin battled to an evenly contested first half, with the Fightin' Engineers leading 27-26 at the break. Rose-Hulman jumped out to a 15-4 lead in the first seven minutes, before the Grizzles battled back to within 15-14. The margin remained within three points for the rest of the first 20 minutes.
Miller exploded for 23 points in the second half to lead Rose-Hulman's charge. The Fightin' Engineers went on a 6-0 run to take a 35-28 lead on a three-pointer by Miller at the 17:23 mark. The lead reached double figures after a three-pointer and a layup by Miller at the 12:45 mark to push Rose-Hulman's margin to 45-34.
The lead reached 18 points at 52-34 after two straight layups from freshman Collin Wojcik (Schererville/Andrean) and two free throws by Miller. Franklin could not close within 12 points the rest of the way.
Rose-Hulman improved to 11-3 on the season and is tied for first place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings. The Fightin' Engineers are joined at 6-1 in league games by Mount St. Joseph, who visits Hulbert Arena on Saturday afternoon. Franklin stands 6-8 overall and 3-4 in conference play.
