TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology enters the Holiday Break on a four-game winning streak, after a hot shooting performance lifted the Fightin' Engineers past Wabash College 76-65 in men's basketball action on Thursday night at Hulbert Arena.
Rose-Hulman finished 11-22 from three-point range and hit 7-11 attempts in the second half to turn a four-point halftime deficit into an 11-point victory.
Freshman Craig McGee led the Fightin' Engineers with 23 points and added six rebounds and three assists. Junior Charlie Aimone added 22 points on 9-12 from the field and 4-6 from three-point range, including 10 points in the first four minutes of the second half.
Other key contributors for Rose-Hulman included Ryuji Aoki with nine points on three trifectas from beyond the arc; John Czarnecki with seven points; and Nick McGrail with six points and eight rebounds.
The balanced Wabash offense was led by Harrison Hallstrom with 15 points, Alex Eberhard with 13 points, and Colten Garland with 11 points. Rose-Hulman forced the Little Giants into 14 turnovers and committed just seven of their own in the contest.
Wabash led 35-31 at the half after shooting 58% from the field. In the second half, the Little Giants maintained a 45-39 lead until back-to-back three-pointers from Aimone tied the score with 15:49 left.
The Fightin' Engineer three-point shooting warmed up after the lead reached 58-53 on a layup by Eli Combs. Treys by Aoki, McGee and McGrail pushed the Rose-Hulman lead to double figures at 67-56 with 4:38 remaining, and Wabash was unable to close within single digits the rest of the way.
Rose-Hulman improved to 5-6 with its fourth straight win, while Wabash dropped to 3-6. The Fightin' Engineers, who enter 2018 with a 3-1 record in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play, return to action with a trip to Hanover College on Jan. 3.
