RICHMOND, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology retained the John Mutchner Cup behind a season-high 27 points from Charlie Aimone as the Fightin' Engineers topped Earlham College 74-64 on the road Saturday afternoon.
Aimone finished 8-15 from the field and 8-10 from the free throw line for the 16th 20-point performance of his career. John Czarnecki added 14 points and nine rebounds on 6-9 from the field, and Craig McGee reached double figures with 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Fightin' Engineers.
With the win, Rose-Hulman retains the Cup named for John Mutchner. His career included 25 years as men's basketball coach and athletic director at Rose-Hulman, after a standout career as an Earlham student-athete. He has been inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at both institutions.
Rose-Hulman also maintained a share of second place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings with the victory. The Fightin' Engineers improve to 16-7 overall and 12-4 in league play, one game behind Hanover for the conference lead. Rose-Hulman and Transylvania remain in a tie for second place in the league standings with two games remaining in the regular season. The HCAC Tournament is later this month.
Rose-Hulman relied on 49% shooting from the field and a 39-26 rebounding advantage to earn its third straight win. Other key contributors included Michael Lake with nine points and a career-high seven assists; Zach Callahan with five points and three rebounds; and Jacob Back with four points and three rebounds.
Kenneth Stalling led the Earlham offense with 20 points. Darrell Hutchison added 14 points, and Blake Bonin reached double figures with 13 points for the Quakers.
Rose-Hulman led 37-30 at halftime after hitting 46% of its shots and four three-pointers. Earlham made a run to close within 60-54 with 6:17 left, but Rose-Hulman held the Quakers to just two points in the next four minutes to pull away and earn the win.
The Fightin' Engineers travel to Anderson University on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. Earlham dropped to 6-17 overall and 5-11 in league play.
