TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology placed five players in double figures to earn a 79-72 double overtime victory over defending Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference champion Transylvania University on Saturday.

Freshman Austin Weatherford (Cicero/ Hamilton Heights) led the Engineers with a career-high 21 points on 7-9 from the field and 7-7 from the free throw line.  Sophomore Spencer Harlan (Terre Haute/South) added 15 second-half points and nine rebounds.

Other Engineers in double figures included sophomore Blake Knotts (Louisville, Ky./Christian) with 14 points and five rebounds; freshman Jon Gerken (Defiance, Ohio/Tinora) with  career-highs of 13 points and nine rebounds; and senior Jeff McCartney (Wooster, Ohio/Triway) with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Transylvania also placed four players in double figures in the tight battle.  Barrett Meyer had a team-high 15 points, followed by Matthew Parton with 13, Chris Owens with 11 and Tim Tierney with 10.

The matchup featured 12 ties and 17 lead changes, with tied scores at halftime, the end of regulation and after the first overtime.  Rose-Hulman relied on a 43-35 rebounding advantage and hit a season-high 26 free throws at an 81.3% clip.

Transylvania gained a nine-point lead at 52-43 with 6:02 left, befoire the Rose-Hulman defense held the Pioneers without a point for over four minutes.  Two layups by Harlan, a conventional three-point play by Gerken and two free throws from Harlan forced a 52-52 tie with 4:20 left.

Another basket by Harlan gave Rose-Hulman a 54-52 lead, before Parton buried a three-pointer at the 1:34 mark to put Transylvania ahead again at 55-54.

Knotts gave Rose-Hulman the lead with two free throws at the 30-second mark, and Weatherford hit two more free throws with 16 seconds left to make the score 58-55.  A three-pointer by Parton with 8.8 seconds remaining knotted the score, and a miss in the lane by Knotts forced the first overtime.

Rose-Hulman gained a three-point lead at 62-59 but another three-pointer by Parton tied the score at 62-62.  The teams exchanged free throws to force a 63-63 tie, before McCartney buried a key three-pointer with 42 seconds left to give Rose-Hulman a three-point lead.

Tierney answered with another three-pointer with 28 seconds left to force a 66-66 tie.  Rose-Hulman held for the last shot, but a Weatherford three-pointer fell short and the teams headed for the second overtime.

In the second extra session, Rose-Hulman gained a 74-71 lead on two free throws by Knotts and two more by McCartney.  After one free throw by Meyer closed Transylvania within 74-72, Gerken scored in the paint to give the Engineers a four-point edge. 

The Rose-Hulman defense held the Pioneers without a field goal for the last 3:56 of overtime and offensively, the Engineers hit three late free throws for the final margin of victory.

Rose-Hulman improved to 4-5 on the season and 1-2 in HCAC play, while Transylvania dropped to 5-4 overall and 3-1 in league games.  The Engineers travel to Fontbonne University on Tuesday.