Box Score RICHMOND, Ind. — A sluggish start was difficult for the Earlham College men's basketball team to overcome on Wednesday as the Quakers fell 83-69 to the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in the annual battle for the Mutchner Cup.

"We had some very good stretches of offensive basketball," Earlham Head Coach Jeff Justus said. "But our intensity and lack of concentration on the defensive end hampered our chances of winning."

"My hat is off to a well-coached and organized Rose-Hulman team," Justus added.

Rose-Hulman (6-1, 3-0) began the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference contest on Schuckman Court with an 11-2 lead by the 15:31 mark of the opening period.

Despite trailing by double digits most of the first half, the Quakers were able to fight back by intermission against the top team in the HCAC standings. Down 35-24 with 2:24 left, Earlham ended the half with a 6-1 run to cut the deficit to 36-30.

In the second half, the Engineers worked their way to 50-38 advantage with 15:31 remaining in the game before the Quakers were able to rally to close the gap twice to within five points with the last coming at 9:55 on a 3-pointer by Kyle Tucker (Vincennes, IN, Lincoln).

Earlham finished the contest with four players reaching double figures led by 14-point performance from Colton Bragg (Richmond, IN, Richmond), who also grabbed six rebounds.

Dustin Rusk (Frankfort, IN, Clinton Prairie) tossed in 12 points, while leading the Quakers with nine rebounds. Josh Green (Campbellsburg, IN, West Washington) added 11 points with Marcus Bledsoe (Indianapolis, IN, Ritter) contributing 10 points and five rebounds.

The Engineers now lead the Mutchner Cup series 7-4, while Earlham still holds an overall advantage of 53-43 in the longtime rivalry. The Mutchner Cup is named after Earlham Hall of Fame member and former Rose-Hulman coach John Mutchner.

Earlham (1-6, 0-3) gets back on the court Saturday at Anderson University. The HCAC contest begins at 3 p.m.

Box Score