David Yaraschefski skies for two of his 12 points.

RICHMOND, IND. -- Earlham College withstood a strong second half charge from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology to claim the John Mutchner Cup and earn a 70-62 victory in men's basketball action on Thursday.

The Engineers rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to close within 60-59 on a free throw by senior Brian Bibb (Hoopeston, Ill.) at the 2:24 mark. 

Earlham closed the game on a 10-3 spurt to earn the John Mutchner Cup for the first time in four seasons, named in honor of the former Engineer coach and Earlham star athlete who has been inducted into both Athletic Halls of Fame.

Senior Jason Bednarko (Athens, Ill.) paced three Rose-Hulman players in double figures with 16 points on five three-pointers.  Bibb added 12 points and six rebounds, while senior David Yaraschefski (Mooresville) had 12 points and four boards.

Derek Simon hit this trey from the baseline.

LaRon Henry led four Earlham players in double figures with 15 points.  Nick Welsh and Tristian Gregory each scored 14 points and Neil Collins had 11 points and eight boards.

Earlham scored the game's first five points, before a three-pointer by junior Jared Moore (Indianapolis/Perry Meridian) and a layup by senior David Yaraschefski (Mooresville) knotted the score at 5-5.

Two field goals by Bibb and another scored by Yaraschefski gave the Engineers an 11-9 advantage midway through the first half.  Earlham answered with eight straight points to take a 17-11 advantage.

The Engineers rallied to tie the score at 26-26 on three-pointers by Bednarko and freshman Derek Simon (Huntington/North).  Earlham answered with nine consecutive points to earn a 35-26 advantage at the half.

In the second half, Earlham pushed the lead to 13 points at 41-28, before the Engineers scored eight straight points to close within five on a trey by Bednarko.  The score remained close down the stretch, until Earlham hit six free throws in the final 1:30 to secure the win.

Earlham improved to 2-5 on the season, while Rose-Hulman dropped to 4-5.  The Engineers host Cincinnati-Clermont on Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Hulbert Arena.