Once Rose-Hulman grabbed the lead, the Fightin’ Engineers never looked back en route to an 86-73 win against host and Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Franklin College in a men’s basketball game Wednesday night.
With a dominating inside game coupled with some high percentage 3-point shooters, Rose-Hulman (2-3, 1-1) broke a 13-13 tie and boosted its lead to 44-36 by the break.
With everything going in for Rose-Hulman, Franklin’s inside game was defended effectively, with junior center John Beineke limited to only nine first-half points.
Beineke was coming off a 28-point performance last Saturday in the Grizzlies’ double-overtime loss at Defiance.
Franklin senior guard Aaron Mann, who had 29 points against Defiance, ran into foul trouble in the opening half and never really gained his normal shooting rhythm the rest of the way.
Also in foul trouble in the first half was senior guard Robbie Prather, who exited with only three minutes elapsed.
The Grizzlies appeared to have caught fire in the opening minutes of the second half, but it turned out to be only a brief spark.
Franklin climbed within six points at 44-38, but Rose-Hulman 3-pointers by guards Kye Steckel and Stephen Schueth, in addition to easy layups down low by John Czarnecki and Eli Combs, gave Rose-Hulman a 61-43 advantage, more than enough to hold up for the final nine minutes of play.
The Engineers maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
The win marked the 11th straight time Rose-Hulman has defeated Franklin dating back to the 2010-11 season.
Schueth and sophomore guard Charlie Aimone led the way for the Engineers with 17 and 15 points, respectively.
Aimone also had a team-leading 12 rebounds.
Franklin (2-4, 0-2) had four players in double figures. Beineke led the way with 21 points to go with nine rebounds, and freshman guard Braxton Day had 17 points. Senior Brett McCory added 14 points and nine boards, while Mann chipped in 12 points.
The Grizzlies host HCAC foe Earlham on Saturday at 3 p.m.
