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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology played the spoiler role on men's basketball Senior Day, as the Fightin' Engineers defeated Mount St. Joseph 68-60 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, Rose-Hulman completed the first regular season under head coach Rusty Loyd with a 15-10 record and an 11-7 mark in the HCAC. The Fightin' Engineers have earned the No. 4 seed for the upcoming conference tournament and will face No. 5 Hanover on Friday at 8 p.m. at Defiance College. (SEE FULL HCAC PAIRINGS BELOW)
Mount St. Joseph completed the regular season at 19-6 and 14-4 in league play, but the loss dropped the Lions from the No. 1 to the No. 2 seed for the upcoming tournament. The Lions earn a share of their first men's basketball conference championship in school history and will receive a first-round bye in the six-team event.
Junior Dillon Reynolds tied a career-high with 17 points to lead the Rose-Hulman offense on 4-7 from the field and 8-8 on the free throw line. Junior Jimmy Miller added 15 points and six rebounds, while junior Collin Wojcik scored 10 points with four rebounds as a third Fightin' Engineer in double figures.
Other key contributors to the Fightin' Engineer offense included senior Corey Povaleri with seven points, a career-high nine rebounds and five assists. Povaleri was joined by senior Michael Hallstein in being honored at Senior Day prior to tipoff.
Junior Matt Loesing added seven points and one assist, while sophomore Wade Stallings and junior Tyler Duffy had five points each.
Femi Thompson led the Mount St. Joseph offense with 26 points on 10-17 from the field. Mark Allen added 14 points, Joel Scudder scored 10, and Ken Kunkel contributed eight points and 13 reounds for the Lions.
Rose-Hulman jumped out to a 25-18 halftime lead by holding the Lions to just 31% shooting from the field. Mount St. Joseph answered with a 14-0 run to start the second half, taking a 32-25 lead at the 14:54 mark.
Following a timeout, Rose-Hulman answered with a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to earn a 40-34 lead on back-to-back three-pointers by Povaleri and Reynolds. Mount St. Joseph trimmed the margin to 47-43 at the 9:01 mark.
Five straight points from Wojcik, followed by five straight points from Miller putshed Rose-Hulman's lead to 57-45 at the 5:08 mark. Mount St. Joseph rallied to within five points at 63-58 in the final minute, but the Fightin' Engineers hit nine of 10 free throws in the last 1:10 to secure the win.
Defiance College will host the HCAC Tournament after finishing the regular season tied with Mount St. Joseph at 14-4 in conference play. Both teams will receive first-round byes. Anderson has the No. 3 seed, followed by Rose-Hulman, Hanover and Bluffton. The three-day event begins Friday and concludes Sunday March 1, with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
HCAC TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS:
OPENING ROUND - FRIDAY FEB. 27 (at Defiance College)
#6 Bluffton vs. #3 Anderson, 6 p.m.
#5 Hanover vs. #4 Rose-Hulman, 8 p.m.
SEMIFINALS - SATURDAY FEB. 28 (at Defiance College)
Rose-Hulman/Hanover winner at #1 Defiance, 5 p.m.
Anderson/Bluffton winner vs. #2 Mount St. Joseph, 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - SUNDAY MARCH 1
Semifinal Winners, 2 p.m.
