HANOVER, Ind. -- The Rose-Hulman men's basketball team picked up a hard-fought win over the Hanover Panthers on Wednesday night in a double overtime thriller with a final score of 87-80. The win moves the team to 13-8 overall and 10-4 in the HCAC this season. 

Joey Schmitz led the Fightin' Engineers with 23 points on the night, shooting 8-18 from the floor. Evan Gentile was another standout with 21 points and a team-high six rebounds. Other double-figure scorers included Daniel Savovic with 18, Cole Pride with 13, and Nate Smith with 10. 

The game remained close from the start. Hanover was able to build a 12-point lead in the first 10 minutes, with the Panthers ahead 23-11 with 10:34 remaining in the first half. Rose battled back to cut the deficit to four points after a made layup by Smith made the score 39-35 at the halftime break. 

Rose-Hulman fought hard to take the lead in the first eight minutes of the second half. A made three-pointer by Savovic made the score 58-57 with 11:49 left in regulation. The Fightin' Engineers led by as much as four points in the second half, after a made three by Gentile made the score 61-57. 

The score stayed tight down the stretch with both teams tied at 70-70 with 1:02 left. Hanover was able to draw a foul to head to the free-throw line, knocking down two shots to jump in front. Trailing by two with 18 seconds remaining, Gentile hit a beautiful fade-away jumper that bounced in to tie the game at the end of regulation and send the game into overtime. 

The first overtime period was a defensive battle. Pride got to the rim for a dunk to give Rose-Hulman the lead 74-72. Hanover answered with a made jumper to knot the score at 74-74 with 2:51 remaining. Both teams struggled to score in the final minutes to force a second overtime. 

The Fightin' Engineers took over in the second overtime period. The team opened the period with a three-pointer from Schmitz to take the lead. Another three-pointer by Gentile extended the Rose-Hulman lead to six points with 2:19 remaining. A floating jumper by Savovic sealed the win, growing the lead to eight points with the score at 84-76 with only 1:29 left to play. 

Rose would hold on to defeat the Panthers and remain at the top of the HCAC standings with their 10th conference victory of the season. 

The Fightin' Engineers finished the game shooting 53.7% from the floor and 44% from beyond the arc. The team also out-rebounded the Panthers 39-29 in the big win.

Rose-Hulman will return home to host Anderson for Senior Day on Saturday, February 7, at 3 PM.