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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology will hit the road for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, squaring off with Hanover College on Friday night at 8 p.m.
The HCAC Tournament will take place at top-seeded Defiance College. The Fightin' Engineers earned the No. 4 seed after finishing the regular season 15-10 overall and 11-7 in conference play under first-year head coach Rusty Loyd. Fifth-seeded Hanover was 13-12 and 10-8 in league games.
Junior Jimmy Miller leads a balanced Rose-Hulman scoring attack at 10.6 points per game. Other double figure scorers include Tyler Duffy (10.1 ppg) and Corey Povaleri (10.0 ppg). The starting lineup also includes Matt Loesing (9.7 ppg) and Wade Stallings (5.0 ppg).
Sophomore Collin Wojcik leads the bench attack at 9.3 points per game. Junior Dillon Reynolds (5.8 ppg), senior Michael Hallstein (2.9 ppg) and junior Mitch Williams (2.5 ppg) add depth.
Rose-Hulman won five of its last six regular season games to earn its fifth straight winning season. The Fightin' Engineers also won both previous meetings with Hanover, 75-64 at home and 64-51 on the road.
Hanover stands 13-12 overall and 10-8 in conference play. The Panthers clinched a tourney bid by defeating Transylvania 70-68 on Feb. 18, then closed the regular season with an 83-72 victory to Manchester on Feb. 21.
Kyle James (11.4 ppg) and V.J. Billups (11.4 ppg) lead a Hanover scoring attack that also features double figure scorer Wes McKinney (10.8 ppg).
Rose-Hulman seeks its fourth consecutive HCAC Tournament championship and an NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. The Fightin' Engineers have defeated Hanover in the last two HCAC Tournament title games, and also defeated the Panthers in the 2012 semifinal round.
The winner of Friday's game between Rose-Hulman and Hanover will advance to the HCAC Tournament semifinal game against regular season league champion Defiance College on Saturday at 5 p.m. The title game is set for Sunday at 2, and the opposite side of the bracket includes Anderson, Bluffton and second-seeded Mount St. Joseph.
HCAC TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS:
OPENING ROUND - FRIDAY FEB. 27 (at Defiance College)
#6 Bluffton (14-11) vs. #3 Anderson (13-12), 6 p.m.
#5 Hanover (13-12) vs. #4 Rose-Hulman (15-10), 8 p.m.
SEMIFINALS - SATURDAY FEB. 28 (at Defiance College)
Rose-Hulman/Hanover winner at #1 Defiance (19-6), 5 p.m.
Anderson/Bluffton winner vs. #2 Mount St. Joseph (19-6), 7 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - SUNDAY MARCH 1
Semifinal Winners, 2 p.m.
