Rose-Hulman holds Mt. St. Joseph

TERRE HAUTE, IND. (WTHI) - Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology matched the best 19-game start to a season in men's basketball school history with a 60-39 win over Mount St. Joseph on Saturday at Hulbert Arena.

The Fighting Engineers improved to 17-2 on the season and retain a one-game lead in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings at 11-1 in league play.

Senior Austin Weatherford (Cicero/Hamilton Heights) led a balanced scoring attack with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists.  Junior Julian Strickland (Indianapolis/Pike) also reached double figures with 14 points.

Senior Jon Gerken (Defiance, Ohio/Tinora) scored eight points, and senior Nate Gissentanner (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County) pitched in with seven points and four rebounds.

Ken Kunkel led the Mount St. Joseph offense with 13 points.  The Fighting Engineers held the Lions to just 29% from the field and outrebounded Mount St. Joseph 35-24 in the victory.

Defensively, Rose-Hulman also held its 10th opponent to 45 points or less and its sixth opponent to 40 points or less in a game.

Rose-Hulman jumped out to an 11-6 lead after a three-pointer by junior James Pillischafske (Louisville, KY/Male), a layup from Gerken and a free throw by Gissentanner.  Mount St. Joseph rallied to tie the score at 13-13 on a three-pointer by Andy Countryman at the 10:51 mark.

Rose-Hulman's defense then stepped up, holding Mount St. Joseph to three points over the next eight minutes as part of an 18-3 run.  Gissentanner capped the rally with a three-pointer at the 2:36 mark, helping the Engineers gain a 33-20 lead at halftime.