TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology relied on four double-digit scorers and several key plays down the stretch to pick up a 78-72 men's basketball victory over Defiance College on Saturday afternoon at Hulbert Arena.

Samvit Ram led the Fightin' Engineer balanced scoring attack with a career-high 17 points.  Ram finished 5-11 from the field and 4-5 from 3-point range to lead the scoring.

Max Chaplin added 16 points, including 4 three-point shots, and 3 assists.  Trey Wurtz contributed 14 points and 9 rebounds to the effort, and Terry Hicks also reached double figures with 12 points and 4 rebounds.

Other key contributors for the Fightin' Engineers included Jackson Kabrick with 5 points and 5 assists; and the duo of Willie Bowman and Isaac Farnsworth with 6 points each.

Marell Jordan led the Defiance offense with 22 points and 7 assists.  Landen Swanner added 16 points, Tyler Andrew scored 14, and Dejsani Beamon contributed 8 points and 8 assists for the Yellow Jackets.

Rose-Hulman led 37-27 at the half based on 7 three-point shots and 8 points from Wurtz and Ram.  The lead reached a game-high 18 points at 45-27 on a three-point play by Ram at the 18:10 mark.

Defiance responded with a 14-5 run to close within 50-41 at the 15:22 mark.  The Fightin' Engineer lead still looked safe at 67-57 with 6:48 remaining, but Jordan scored 8 of the next 15 points for Defiance to knot the score at 72-72 with 2:10 left.

Rose-Hulman relied on a free throw by Kabrick and a key 3-pointer by Hicks to take a 76-72 lead with 28 seconds remaining.  The lead reached 78-72 in the final seconds, before Swanner hit a three-pointer in the final second to trim the Rose-Hulman win to a 78-75 margin.

The Fightin' Engineers improved to 9-4 overall and 5-2 in HCAC play with the win, while Defiance dropped to 5-8 and 3-3 in league play.  Rose-Hulman returns home on Wednesday to face Anderson University at 7:30 pm.