Men's Basketball Report (Week 5) - Engineers Defeat DePauw: Off to Best Start Since 1999

GREENWOOD, IN - Rose-Hulman (9-2, 3-1 HCAC) had a busy week and came away with three victories as the Engineers closed out the 2010 portion of the schedule.  RHIT earned home wins over Fontbonne, Robert Morris-Springfield, and DePauw during the week of action, continuing its best start to a season since 1999.

Rose started the week with a 64-49 triumph over visiting Fontbonne.  Freshman guard Julian Strickland (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) led the Engineers with 14 points and four rebounds in the victory as the hosts struggled to shoot 37.7% from the field.

The Rose-Hulman offense exploded in the win over RMS, shooting 55.4% from the floor in a 90-48 win.  Sophomore forward Nate Gissentanner (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale Co.) led 12 Engineers in the scoring column with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting.  

On Saturday, Rose jumped out early and held on to beat visiting DePauw 75-66.  The Engineers shot a blistering 66.7% from the floor (30-of-45) against the Tigers defense and led by as many as 25 in the second half.  Gissentanner led four Engineers in double figures with 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting.

Rose-Hulman will not return to the court until Wednesday, January 5 when the HCAC schedule gets in full swing once again.  The Engineers will play host to Manchester at 8:00 PM.

For a complete recap of Week 5 in HCAC Men's Basketball, click here