FRANKLIN, Ind. – It was a day loaded with milestones for the Franklin men's basketball team on Saturday (Jan. 16) afternoon, when the Grizzlies hosted the Rose-Hulman Engineers to complete conference play opening weekend home-and-home set.

The Grizzlies (1-3, 1-1 HCAC) steamrolled their rivals to the west, blowing the game wide open in the second half to claim a 91-63 win. Saturday's victory marks the first as head coach for Brian Lebowitz, and it also saw senior guard Sam Gutierrez become the latest Grizzly to reach 1,000 points for his career.

Franklin dominated the game at both ends of the floor, shooting 64.8% (35-for-54) from the field while holding Rose to just 40% (24-for-60) on the afternoon. Four Grizzlies finished the afternoon in double figures, led by Payton Mills' 18 points and 10 rebounds, giving the senior forward double-doubles in all four games to open the year.

The two side traded the lead five times in the opening half with the Engineers taking their largest advantage of the game after a Craig McGee three-pointer made it 13-9 with 15:12 to go in the first half. That proved to be the last Rose bucket over a six-minute period, as Franklin shot out to a double-digit lead with a 15-0 run, punctuated by a Colin York jumper with 10:20 to go in the opening half.

Franklin would lead by as many as 14 in the opening half, but the Engineers closed out the first half with a small run that would trim the lead in half at 40-33 when the first 20 minutes expired. Continuity was key for Franklin in the opening period, with eight different Grizzlies recording a bucket.

A pair of threes from the Engineers early in the second period brought the visitors within one possession, but shortly after the flood gates opened and Franklin blew the game wide open with a 12-2 run that sent the Griz lead back into double figures, where it would remain for the rest of the game. With 8:25 to play, Gutierrez etched his name into the Franklin record books with a jumper from the right elbow, giving him 11 for the night and moving him along side former teammates Kale Morris and John Beinecke as the most recent additions to the 1,000-point club.

The Grizzly lead continued to climb, getting as high as 29 before the final horn sounded. As good as the FC offense was in the first half, it was even better in the second half as the Grizzlies shot 70.4% (19-for-27) over the final 20 minutes of action. Mills did the most damage down low, pouring in 15 of his total points in the second half.

Also reaching double figures was senior Ismail Jones, whose 12 points set a new career high, along with Matt Krause who added 11 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the year. Franklin dominated the game on the glass, finishing with a 39-21 edge in the rebounding battle.

The Grizzlies will hit the road for their next contest, traveling to Ohio next Friday (Jan. 22) night to take on the Defiance Yellow Jackets. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.