FRANKLIN, Ind. -- Franklin College shot 65% from the field and placed four players in double figures to top Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 91-63 in men's basketball action on Saturday at the Spurlock Center.
Payton Mills led the Grizzlies with 18 points, and Sam Gutierrez crossed the 1,000-point mark in his career with a 17-point performance to lead the balanced Franklin attack.
Jacob Back paced the Rose-Hulman offense with 13 points on 5-7 from the field.Â
Craig McGee added 10 points, six rebounds and five assists to cross the 500-rebound mark in his career. The effort makes McGee the first men's basketball player in Rose-Hulman history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists as a Fightin' Engineer.
The freshman duo of
Dillon Duff and
Jackson Kabrick pitched in nine points each off the bench for Rose-Hulman. The Fightin' Engineers shot 40% from the field and hit 6 three-point field goals on the afternoon.
Franklin jumped out to a 14-point lead early in the first half, before Rose-Hulman closed within 40-33 at the half. A three-pointer by
Samvit Ram and two dunks from Back helped turned a double-figure deficit into a closer contest at the break.
In the second half, Kabrick scored with under eight minutes remaining to keep the Fightin' Engineers within 61-48. Franklin answered with a 12-2 run to secure the victory.
Rose-Hulman dropped to 1-1 on the season, while Franklin improved to 1-3 with the victory. The Fightin' Engineers are scheduled to return to action at Hanover College on Thursday night.
