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TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Transylvania University snapped Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's 11-game men's basketball winning streak with a 69-60 victory at Hulbert Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Ethan Spurlin crossed the 1,000-point mark in his career and led Transylvania with 19 points. Barrett Meyer added 18 points, and Brandon Rash scored 17 for the Pioneers.
Junior Julian Strickland (Indianapolis/Pike) led the Rose-Hulman offensive attack with 18 points. Senior Austin Weatherford (Cicero/Hamilton Heights) added 16 points and six rebounds, with senior Nate Gissentanner (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County) reached double figures with 11 points and five boards.
Senior Jon Gerken (Defiance, Ohio/Tinora) also contributed seven points to the Rose-Hulman effort.
Rose-Hulman jumped out to a 17-2 lead eight minutes into the contest, courtesy of two three-pointers by Weatherford and one by Strickland. The Fightin' Engineers maintained a 10-point lead at the half at 36-26.
In the second half, Transylvania rallied to trim the margin to 45-42 on a three-pointer by Rash at the 14:28 mark. Another Weatherford three-pointer gave Rose-Hulman a 50-44 lead, with Gissentanner keeping the Engineer margin at 54-48 on another trey at the 8:31 mark.
Transylvania answered with a 17-2 run over the next seven minutes to take a 65-56 lead after two straight layups by Spurlin. The Engineers trimmed the margin to seven points at 67-60, but Transylvania buried two more free throws to secure the final margin.
Rose-Hulman shot 52% from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 50% from three-point range, but Transylvania answered with a 55% shooting effort in the second half to capture the victory.
Transylvania improved to 11-4 overall and 6-2 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play, while Rose-Hulman stands 13-2 and 7-1 in league games. The Fightin' Engineers still hold a one-game lead in the conference standings and will travel to Franklin on Wednesday.