BEREA, Ky. -- The Rose-Hulman men's basketball team picked up their fourth straight win, with a victory over Berea on Friday night, with a final score of 66-58. The Fightin' Engineers stand at the top of the HCAC standings with a record of 12-6 overall and 9-2 in the HCAC.

Joey Schmitz was the team's top scorer with 17 points in the contest. Cole Pride was another standout with 16 points on the night. Other double-figure scorers included Nate Smith with 12 points and Evan Gentile with 10 points. 

Gentile and Jack Jenniges both led the team on the glass with six rebounds each. Gentile also led the Fightin' Engineers with three steals. 

The game proved to be a defensive battle with both teams struggling offensively. The score was tied at 13-13 with 8:49 remaining in the first half. Rose-Hulman put together a 7-0 run capped off by a made three-pointer from Gentile. 

Rose-Hulman held onto their lead at the halftime break, standing ahead 27-24 as the teams headed to the locker rooms. 

Berea battled back to take the lead in the first three minutes of the second half. Rose-Hulman trailed by as much as five points with the score at 37-32 with 13:21 left in the game. Rose-Hulman tied the game on a made three-pointer from Schmitz to make the score 44-44 with 9:53 remaining. 

The game remained close with both teams knotted at 52-52 with 6:38 remaining in regulation. The Fightin' Engineer put together a 9-1 run to take an eight-point lead with 2:10 left in the game. Rose-Hulman closed out the win with strong free-throw shooting down the stretch to defeat the Mountaineers. 

Rose-Hulman will return home to host Franklin College on Wednesday, January 28, at 7:30 PM.