Terre Haute, Ind. - Closing on a 26-6 run on its home court, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology defeated the Franklin College men's basketball team 79-61 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Wednesday.

Franklin overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to take a 55-53 lead after a three-point field goal by sophomore Matt Niehoff (Rushville, Ind./Rushville) with 7:35 left.

Sophomore Aaron Mann (Indianapolis, Ind./Howe) led all scorers with 21 points, including 15 points in the first half.

Sophomore John Beineke (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) and freshman Jim Mace (Brazil, Ind./Northview) each chipped in eight points. Sophomore Robbie Prather (Franklin, Ind./Roncalli) and Niehoff each scored seven points.

Rose-Hulman scored nine straight points to take a 24-15 lead after a layup by Dillon Reynolds with 7:39 left in the first half. The Grizzlies trailed 38-27 after the opening 20 minutes of action.

The visitors opened the second half on an 11-1 spurt over the first four minutes to trail 39-38 following a three-point field by Prather.

Later, sophomore Trey Boles (Carrollton, Ky./Carroll County) made a three pointer to bring the Grizzlies within 46-45 at the 12:39 mark.

Rose-Hulman took a 53-50 lead after a layup by Jimmy Miller with 8:47 remaining. Mace converted a layup and Niehoff made a three-point field goal to give Franklin its only lead of the contest. Then, the Fightin' Engineers had the strong finish to pick up the home victory.

Franklin shot 55.6 percent from the floor and made five three pointers in the contest.

Tyler Duffy led three double-figure scorers with 18 points for Rose-Hulman.

Franklin closes out the season with a home contest against Defiance College on Saturday, February 21, at 4 p.m. from the Spurlock Center. Live statistics and video of the game will be available. In-game updates will also be available on Twitter (@FCAthletics) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinCollegeAthletics).