DePauw led for much of the first 10 minutes and took its biggest lead of the game at 15-10 when Todd Capes knocked down a three with 12:47 left in the first half. The Engineers immediately called a 30-second timeout and responded with Evan Ballinger nailing a three and Munchie Muskeyvalley tying the game on a layup after a steal.
The Engineers' lead reached as many as seven in the first half after Muskeyvalley knocked down a pair of free throws and Brennan Dunville delivered a dunk. Rose-Hulman went to the break with a 36-30 lead.
Rose-Hulman extended the margin to nine in the first two minutes of the second half and still led 46-38 after Brian Bibb's three-pointer with 15:17 left in the half. Derek Lawrence hit two baskets and Alex Stewart added another to close the gap to 46-44 with 13:39 remaining.
Bibb then scored four and Kareem Lee added three in a 7-0 Rose-Hulman run that pushed the lead back to 53-44 with 11:33 left. The Tigers rallied again with a 12-2 run over a three-minute stretch to take their first lead of the half. Wes Thornhill scored five during the stretch that gave DePauw a 56-55 advantage with just over five minutes left.
Once again, the Engineers stepped up by scoring eight straight as Dunville converted a three-point play, Jason Ludwig hit two free throws and Lee knocked down a three-pointer. The Tigers got no closer than four the rest of the way.
Stewart and Capes led DePauw with 15 each, while Owens added 11. Bibb scored a career-high 15 to lead the Engineers, while Lee scored 13 and Philip Griffith and Muskeyvalley each added 12.
The Engineers held a 35-34 edge on the boards with Bibb and Lee each hauling down nine. Lawrence led the Tigers with eight.
DePauw travels to Southwestern on Friday, February 6, while Rose-Hulman is at Trinity on Friday.
Newspaper Box Score Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech. vs DePauw University 2/2/04 8 pm at Neal Fieldhouse; Greencastle, Indiana At Neal Fieldhouse; Greencastle, Indiana ROSE-HULMAN INST. OF TECH. 72, DEPAUW UNIVERSITY 67 ROSE-HULMAN INST. OF TECH. (14-5, 7-1 SCAC) Brian Bibb 7-9 0-0 15; Kareem Lee 3-6 6-10 13; Philip Griffith 4-11 4-4 12; Munchie Muskeyvalley 2-12 8-11 12; Brennan Dunville 3-4 2-3 8; Jason Ludwig 0-5 6-6 6; Evan Ballinger 1-3 1-2 4; Mike Cusic 1-2 0-0 2; Jason Bednarko 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-52 27-36 72. DEPAUW UNIVERSITY (12-7, 5-3 SCAC) Alex Stewart 5-10 3-5 15; Todd Capes 5-8 3-4 15; Jon Owens 4-8 0-0 11; Derek Lawrence 3-9 3-5 9; Wes Thornhill 2-3 0-0 5; Aaron Drake 2-5 1-1 5; Reid Sakel 1-2 0-0 3; John Gergely 0-1 2-2 2; Matt McDonald 1-1 0-0 2; Dre Smith 0-1 0-0 0; Robert Davis 0-1 0-0 0; Joey Hanger 0-5 0-2 0. Totals 23-54 12-19 67. Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech..... 36 36 - 72 DePauw University............. 30 37 - 67 3-point goals-Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech. 3-11 (Kareem Lee 1-3; Evan Ballinger 1-2; Brian Bibb 1-2; Munchie Muskeyvalley 0-4), DePauw University 9-20 (Jon Owens 3-3; Todd Capes 2-3; Alex Stewart 2-5; Wes Thornhill 1-2; Reid Sakel 1-2; Joey Hanger 0-4; John Gergely 0-1). Fouled out--Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.-None, DePauw University-None. Rebounds-Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech. 35 (Brian Bibb 9; Kareem Lee 9), DePauw University 34 (Derek Lawrence 8). Assists-Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech. 8 (Philip Griffith 4), DePauw University 8 (Alex Stewart 2; Joey Hanger 2). Total fouls-Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech. 19, DePauw University 23. A-250 Rose-Hulman's fourth straight win. Career high points for Bibb Next games, Fri., Feb. 6: DePauw at Southwestern; Rose-Hulman at Trinity