DEFIANCE, Ohio -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology placed four players in double figures and shot 47% from the field to earn an 88-80 men's basketball road victory at Defiance College on Saturday afternoon.

Terry Hicks led the Fightin' Engineer offense with a career-high 19 points on 6-10 from the field.  Craig McGee scored 15 points with eight rebounds and five assists.

John Czarnecki added a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.  Vuk Djuric was the fourth Rose-Hulman player in double figures with 10 points.

Other key contributors included Zach Callahan with nine points and five rebounds; and Eli Combs with eight points and five rebounds.

Marell Jordan recorded a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds on 12-19 from the field.  Jack Kolar scored 14 points, and Sean Tyson added 12 points for the Yellow Jackets.

Rose-Hulman outrebounded Defiance 47-32 in the contest and committed just seven turnovers. 

The Fightin' Engineers held an 11-point lead at 75-64 after a three-pointer by Hicks at the 3:04 mark.  The lead stayed at 12 points at 80-68 with 2:06 left on two free throws by Jacob Back.

Defiance rallied to within six points in the final minute, but the Fightin' Engineers relied on free throws by Back and Czarnecki to close the game.

With the win, Rose-Hulman clinched a bid to the six-team HCAC Tournament.  The Fightin' Engineers will play their first tournament game on Friday Feb. 28.  The format and location of the tournament will be finalized after the completion of the regular season on Saturday Feb. 22.

Rose-Hulman improved to 12-11 and 9-7 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play, while Defiance dropped to 11-12 and 6-10 in league games.  The Fightin' Engineers travel to Earlham College on Wednesday night in another conference matchup.