Strickland; HCAC Player of the Week

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology junior Julian Strickland (Indianapolis/Pike) has been named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the final week of the regular season.

Strickland finished 9-9 from the field and 4-4 from three-point range with 26 points in Rose-Hulman's 59-57 win at Hanover on Saturday.  His efforts helped Rose-Hulman secure its first men's basketball outright conference championship since 1999 and to earn hosting rights for this weekend's HCAC Tournament.

For the week, Strickland averaged 17.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 69% (11-for-16) from the field and 83% (5-for-6) from three-point range.  He has scored 1,052 points at Rose-Hulman and recently became the 29th member of the college's 1,000-point club.

Strickland leads the Rose-Hulman offense in scoring at 14.4 points per game.  He also stands second on the team in assists (60) and steals (23).

Rose-Hulman completed the regular season with a 22-3 record and finished 16-2 in HCAC play.  The Fightin' Engineers open the HCAC Tournament on Friday at 8 p.m. against the winner of Tuesday's matchup between Defiance and Franklin.