TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Transylvania University maintained the lead through the latter part of a tight Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball matchup to earn an 83-79 win over the Fightin' Engineers on Saturday at Hulbert Arena.
Craig McGee led four Rose-Hulman players in double figures with 20 points and nine assists. Vuk Djuric added a career-high 13 points and six rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench, and Eli Combs contributed 10 points and seven rebounds to the effort. John Czarnecki added eight points and six rebounds, Michael Lake pitched in with eight points, Samvit Ram had seven points, and Terry Hicks contributed five points on the day.
Transylvania placed four players in double figures as part of the win. Gabe Schmitt had a game-high 25 points and Zach Larimore came off the bench for 17 points for the Pioneers. Michael Jefferson added 15 points and Brandon Cromwell contributed 10 points in the contest.
Transylvania led 23-11 midway through the first half, before a 16-3 run put Rose-Hulman ahdead 27-26 at the 5:14 mark of the first half. Djuric scored five points and Zach Callahan added four points in the spurt.
Transylvania regained a five-point lead at 34-29, but Rose-Hulman rallied to tie the score at 36-36 on a three-pointer by Combs. Two free throws by Djuric and a layup by John Czarnecki at the buzzer gave Rose-Hulman a 44-40 lead at the half.
The second half featured a back-and-forth battle until Djuric tied the score at 56-56 with 12:50 left. Transylvania expanded its lead out to 71-63, but another Rose-Hulman rally featuring a layup from McGee, a three-pointer by Lake and a layup by Combs brought Rose-Hulman within 76-75 in the final minute.
An exchange of three-pointers by Schmitt and McGee brought the Engineers within 79-78 with 16 seconds left. After two Schmitt free throws, Transylvania fouled Rose-Hulman in the waning seconds instead of allowing a potential game-tying three-pointer. The Pioneers hit two more free throws to secure the four-point win.
Transylvania improved to 8-7 and 4-4 in league play, while Rose-Hulman dropped to 7-8 and 4-4 in conference play. The Fightin' Engineers return to action on Wednesday at HCAC leader Franklin College at 7:30 pm.
