BOX SCORE
FRANKLIN, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
placed four players in double figures and relied on a strong
defensive effort to top Franklin College 64-41 in men's basketball
action on Wednesday night.
Junior Austin Weatherford (Cicero/Hamilton Heights) led the offensive effort with 19 points. Junior Nate Gissentanner (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County) added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Sophomore Julian Strickland (Indianapolis/Pike) added 11 points and a game-high six assists. Junior Jon Gerken (Defiance, Ohio/Tinora) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points and five rebounds.
Gunner Erwin led the Franklin offense with 12 points. Zach Merschbrock and Will Conoley also scored 10 points each.
Rose-Hulman shot 54% from the field and held the Grizzlies to 35%. The Engineers built a 29-19 halftime advantage by holding the Grizzlies to 30% from the field in the opening half and hitting all nine free throw attempts.
In the second half, Rose-Hulman jumped out of the locker room on a 17-7 run to build the lead to 20 points at 46-26 on a three-pointer by Gerken at the 10:43 mark.
The Engineers built the lead to a game-high 26 points to secure the win.
Rose-Hulman improved to 15-7 overall and 9-6 in conference play, while Franklin dropped to 10-12 and 7-8 in league games. The Fightin' Engineers host Defiance College on Saturday at 3 p.m. in another conference matchup.