DECATUR, ILL. - Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology rallied from an 18-point deficit to close within five points in the final minute, but Millikin University held on to defeat the Engineers 60-54 in men's basketball action on Sunday night.

Mark Patrick scored a game-high 18 points and hit a key shot in the final minute to lead the Millikin offense.  Robert Rexroade added 11 points and Robert Burton reached double figures with 10.

Senior Ross Uthoff (Crete, Ill./Illinois Lutheran) scored 13 points to narrowly miss his career high total by one point.  Freshman Daniel Lowers (Ellettsville/Edgewood) added 12 points and five rebounds for the Engineers.

Rose-Hulman's balanced attack included contributions from senior Jared Moore (Indianapolis/Perry Meridian) with seven points and seven assists; freshman Michael Kelly (Fort Myers, Fla.) with seven points; and senior Phil Sundling (Huntington/North) with six points and six rebounds.

Rose-Hulman jumped out to a 4-0 lead on layups by Moore and junior Lorenzo Rice (Grandview, Mo.).  The Engineers maintained the lead at 12-10 on a three-pointer by Lowers at the 11:02 mark of the first half.

The teams exchanged baskets with tied scores at 12-12 and 14-14, before Millikin ran off an 18-3 spurt to take a 32-19 lead late in the first stanza to secure control of the game.

The Big Blue increased their lead to 18 points at 42-24 with 16:10 left in the contest, but Rose-Hulman relied on a 10-2 run of its own to close within 44-34.  Uthoff and Kelly each had five points in the spurt.

Millikin retained the double figure lead at 56-45 with 7:38 left on a basket by Devin Demby.  Rose-Hulman scored six straight points to move within 56-51 in the final minute, but a key basket by Patrick with 38 seconds left helped thwart the rally.

Millikin improved to 2-0 on the season, while Rose-Hulman dropped to 1-3.  The Engineers return to action at Wabash College on Wednesday night.