BOX SCORE

VIDEO INTERVIEW - RUSTY LOYD

FACEBOOK PHOTO GALLERY

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology clinched a bid to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament and secured its fifth straight winning season with a 79-61 victory over Franklin College on Wednesday night.

Junior Tyler Duffy led three double figure scoring performances with 18 points, six assists, six steals and four rebounds.  Junior Jimmy Miller added 17 points and five rebounds, and junior Dillon Reynolds scored a career-high 17 points with four assists.

Senior Corey Povaleri added nine points and four rebounds, junior Matt Loesing contributed eight points with eight rebounds, and sophomore Collin Wojcik scored eight points off the bench to provide depth.

Rose-Hulman shot 54% from the field and hit 20-26 from the free throw line, including 16-18 in the second half, to secure the victory.  Franklin shot 56% from the field, but Rose-Hulman relied on a 30-19 rebounding advantage and forcing 22 turnovers to lead the defensive effort.

Aaron Mann led the Franklin offense with 21 points and six rebounds on 8-15 from the field.  Jim Mace and John Beineke added eight points each for the Grizzlies.

Rose-Hulman turned a 15-15 tie into a 28-15 lead with a 13-0 run over six minutes midway through the first half.  The lead stayed at 38-27 at the break on field goals by Mitch Williams, Miller and Reynolds to end the opening 20 minutes.

In the second half, Franklin rallied to within 41-40 after a three-pointer by Robbie Prather and a score by Mace at the 15:19 mark.  The Grizzlies trimmed the margin to 51-50, before taking a 55-53 lead on a score by Niehoff at the 7:35 mark.

Rose-Hulman answered with a 12-0 run to push the lead to double figures again on a score by Loesing at the 4:25 mark.  The Fightin' Engineers maintained a lead of at least eight points for the remainder of the game.

Rose-Hulman improved to 14-10 overall and 10-7 in HCAC play, while Franklin dropped to 5-19 and 4-13 in league play.  The Fightin' Engineers have clinched an HCAC Tournament bid and will open the tournament in the 8 p.m. opening round game on Feb. 27 at the site of the league champion (Mount St. Joseph or Defiance).

The Rose-Hulman regular season concludes with a home game against Mount St. Joseph on Saturday at 3 p.m.