BOX SCORE

BLUFFTON, OHIO -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology won its sixth consecutive game and moved into a tie for first place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball standings with a 62-53 victory at Bluffton University on Saturday. 

Junior Jimmy Miller led three players in double figures with 19 points on 7-9 from the field and 4-5 from the free throw line.  Senior Corey Povaleri added 13 points, and junior Matt Loesing also reached double figures with 12 points. 

Sophomore Collin Wojcik pitched in with nine points off the bench to balance the scoring attack.  Junior Tyler Duffy added a career-high nine assists and also tied for team-high honors with six rebounds.

Defensively, Rose-Hulman outrebounded Bluffton 34-25 and held the Beavers to 41% shooting from the field.  The Fightin' Engineers also held the HCAC leading scorer, Thayne Recker, to just five points on 2-7 from the field.

Ryan Ebbeskotte and Austin Rohde led the Bluffton offense with 14 points.  The Beavers kept the margin close with six three-point shots on the day.

Rose-Hulman jumped out to a 30-24 lead at halftime by closing the first 20 minutes on a 7-3 run.  The Engineers kept the strong run by increasing the edge to 39-26 early in the second half on a three-point play by Miller.

Bluffton trimmed the margin to two points at 42-40 with 9:36 remaining, but Rose-Hulman maintained the lead for the rest of the second half.  With the lead cut to 52-48, Povaleri scored a key three-point play on a tip-in and a free throw to push the Rose-Hulman edge to 55-48 at the 2:44 mark.

Bluffton closed within 57-51 with 1:47 left, but four free throws down the stretch from sophomore Wade Stallings helped secure the final nine-point margin of victory for the Engineers.

Rose-Hulman moved into a tie for first place in the HCAC standings at 3-1 in league play and improved to 7-4 overall with the victory.  Bluffton dropped to 6-5 on the season and 2-2 in conference games.  The Fightin' Engineers return to action in the annual John Mutchner Cup Game at Earlham College on Wednesday night.