Ron George scores two of his career-high 17 points.

TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit to close within two points in the final minute before falling 54-49 to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference leader Bluffton University on Saturday.

Senior Jason Bednarko (Athens, Ill.) rimmed out a potentially game tying three-pointer in the final seconds as Bluffton remained undefeated in the HCAC and improved to 8-1 on the season.

Junior Ron George (Louisville, Ky./Manual) led the Engineer offense with a career-high 17 points off the bench.  George finished 6-9 from the field and a perfect 4-4 from the line with three steals in the game.

Junior Jared Moore (Indianapolis/Perry Meridian) also reached double figures with 10 points and five rebounds.  Senior Brian Bibb (Hoopeston, Ill.) added a game-high 14 rebounds in the effort.

The balanced Bluffton attack featured Colt Cunningham with 10 points, Eric Schwieterman with nine and Mike Anthony with eight.

The Engineers outrebounded Bluffton 37-31 and forced 15 Beaver turnovers, but the victors buried 20-24 free throws to secure the win.

Jared Moore also reached double figures with 10 points.

Bluffton jumped out to a 13-2 lead at the 14:40 mark on a three-pointer by Zack Kraus.  Rose-Hulman answered with a 9-2 spurt of its own to close within 15-11 on a three-pointer by sophomore Lorenzo Rice (Grandview, Mo.) at the 9:05 mark.

Bluffton earned three different leads of seven points in the opening half, before Rose-Hulman closed the half with four straight points to move within 28-25 at the break.  George buried a pair of free throws and Moore scored on a layup, courtesy of a pass from freshman Derek Simon (Huntington/North), to spark the rally.

In the second half, Bluffton pushed its lead to nine points at 45-36 on a layup by Aaron Taylor at the 7:10 mark.  The Engineers chipped away, coming within 49-47 on a layup by junior Phil Sundling (Huntington/North) at the 1:12 mark.

Schwieterman scored a layup with 50 seconds left to give Bluffton another four-point edge at 51-47.  George hit two free throws to make the score 51-49, before a Schwieterman free throw set the stage for Bednarko's tying try.

Bluffton stands 8-1 on the season and 3-0 in HCAC play, while Rose-Hulman dropped to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in conference matchups.  The Engineers host Fontbonne University on Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Hulbert Arena.