TERRE HAUTE, IN – The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology men's basketball team escaped with a thrilling win over Hanover Saturday night, 64-59, to claim the school's second straight Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament title. 

After trailing by three at the half, the top seed Engineers outscored the Panthers 33-25 in the second half to pull out a 64-59 win at Hulbert Arena. Rose-Hulman claims the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament set to begin next week, earning its second consecutive trip to the Big Dance.

Rose-Hulman (24-3) shot the ball well from the field, posting a shooting percentage of 44.0% in the win.  The Engineers connected on six of their 14 attempts from behind the arc and converted 14 of their 16 free throw attempts.

Leading the way for RHIT was senior forward Brenton Balsbaugh (Greenville, Ohio/Arcanum).  Balsbaugh led the scoring attack with a season high 17 points on seven-of-nine shooting.  The senior connected on all three of his free throw attempts and added four rebounds, earning the tournament Most Valuable Player award for his efforts

Rose's Austin Weatherford (Cicero, Ind./Hamilton Heights) added 12 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the win, earning a spot on the all-tournament team.  Junior guard Julian Strickland (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) also earned an all-tourney team selection with 13 points, nine rebounds, and four assists in the championship game.

Hanover (18-9) was represented on the all-tournament team by sophomore Tim Bass (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central).  Bass led the Panthers with 12 points and a pair of assists in the title game loss Saturday night.

Defiance's Logan Wolfrum (Defiance, Ohio/Ayersville) and Transylvania's Ethan Spurlin (Stanford, Ky./Lincoln Co.) earned the final two spots on the all-tournament squad.

No. 23 ranked Rose-Hulman will await its first round opponent in the NCAA Division III Tournament until the bracket is released. The announcement of the Division III men's basketball field will be presented via webcast on www.ncaa.com beginning at 12:30 PM Monday.

Closing moments and celebration

HCAC Tournament MVP-Brenton Balsbaugh of RHIT

Rose-Hulman Head Coach Jim Shaw