FRANKLIN, IND. - Franklin
College shot 50% from the field and placed three players in double
figures to top Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 71-50 in men's
basketball action on Wednesday.
Three Engineers scored 10 points each to pace the Rose-Hulman scoring effort. Sophomores Brenton Balsbaugh (Greenville, Ohio/Arcanum) and Jon Gerken (Defiance, Ohio/ Tinora) had 10 points and four rebounds, with sophomore Nate Gissentanner (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County) recorded 10 points and four steals.
Freshman Julian Strickland (Indianapolis/Pike) and junior Jason Haslag (Linn, Mo./Helias Interparrish) added six points each.
Will Conoley led the Franklin offense with 17 points. J.T. Barton and Gunner Erwin pitched in with 14 points each.
Franklin shot 58% from the field in the second half to withstand Rose-Hulman's comeback effort after the Engineers trailed by 12 points at halftime. The score was knotted at 22-22, before Franklin closed the first half with 12 straight points.
Rose-Hulman trimmed a 15-point deficit down to nine points at 52-43 on scores from Balsbaugh and Haslag at the 8:17 mark. Franklin relied on its defense to outscore the Engineers 16-5 over the next seven minutes to secure the win.
Franklin improved to 7-11 and 5-6 in conference play, while Rose-Hulman dropped to 12-6 and 6-5 in league games. The Engineers return to action with a Saturday afternoon home matchup against Transylvania University.