TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Franklin College rimmed out a potential game tying three-pointer at the buzzer as Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology earned a 74-71 men's basketball victory on Wednesday night at Hulbert Arena.
Senior Wade Stallings buried two free throws for Rose-Hulman with 7.5 seconds remaining to give the Fightin' Engineers a three-point lead. Franklin had a chance to tie on its final possession, but a 22-foot three-pointer by Kale Morris at the buzzer rimmed out.
Sophomore Charlie Aimone led a balanced Rose-Hulman offense performance with 16 points and eight rebounds. Senior Collin Wojcik came off the bench with 15 points, and sophomore Nick McGrail also reached double figures with 10 points for the Fightin' Engineers.
Braxton Day led three Franklin players in double figures with 21 points. Aaron Mann added 17 points and Robbie Prather scored 14 for the Grizzlies.
The teams battled in a tight contest that featured 16 ties and eight lead changes. The score was tied at 63, 65, 67 and 69, before a free throw by John Czarnecki and a basket from Wojcik gave the Engineers a three-point lead at 72-69 with 49 seconds remaining.
Mann answered with a basket for the Grizzlies, bringing Franklin within 72-71 at the 40-second mark. Rose-Hulman ran down the shot clock on the next possession, and Wojcik's missed three-pointer was rebounded by Aimone to keep the ball in the Engineers control. After a timeout, Stallings hit his two free throws to push the lead to three.
Franklin led 39-37 at the half after shooting 48% from the field. The Fightin' Engineers shot 52% in the opening half and hit 50% of their three-point shots for the game to keep within striking distance.
The home team relied on a bench scoring edge of 25-10 and a 17-21 free throw performance to capture the tight win.
Rose-Hulman improved to 10-10 on the season and 8-5 in conference play with its fifth win in the last six games. Franklin stands 6-14 and 3-10 in league games. The Fightin' Engineers host Mount St. Joseph on Saturday at 3 p.m.
