RICHMOND – The Earlham College men's basketball team defeated Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 66-59 in overtime on Wednesday evening. The Quakers have now won five of their last six contests since the holiday break.
The game served as the kickoff for black history month festivities as the Quakers honored Clarence Cunningham ('24) before the tip-off. Cunningham was the first black athlete at Earlham College and despite battling discrimination, excelled in basketball and track and field for the Quakers. A native of New London, Indiana, Cunningham serves as an inspiration to EC student athletes and his courage has paved the way for thousands of students of color in the years to follow.
The Quakers improved to 8-9 (4-6 HCAC) while the Engineers fell to 10-8 (6-6 HCAC).
Four Quakers recorded double-digit points in the extended game.
Jaden Terry led the way with a game-high 14 points while also hauling in six rebounds.
Kolden Vanlandingham recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards on the evening.
Zachariah Andre and
Tommy Makabu tallied 11 and 10 points respectively and the duo combined for seven rebounds and five steals.
The teams traded the lead five times in the first 10 minutes of play. After which the Quakers led for the remainder of the half, stretching out to a lead of as many as seven points. A 7-2 run from Rose-Hulman in the final minutes of the half brought the score to a tie at 28.
Makabu scored a layup with 18 seconds remaining to give Earlham a 30-28 lead, but the Engineers responded with a jumper with .7 remaining on the clock to tie the game at 30.
Earlham controlled much of the second half and even led by double-digits in the period. The Quakers led 55-44 with five minutes remaining, but an 11-0 run from the Engineers tied the game with 42 seconds left. The Quakers failed to score on their final seven possessions of regulation.
Earlham won the tip-off in overtime and after a missed shot from Terry, Andre scored on a put-back layup to give the Quakers a 2-point advantage.
Rose-Hulman responded with a 3-pointer on its next possession to take the lead 58-57. Both teams missed shots on their next possession, and a layup from
Xavier Barbell gave Earlham the lead back with 2:57 left on the clock.
The Engineers missed a jumper and Barbell scored on a layup to make the score 61-58 going into the final two minutes.
Each team missed a 3-pointer before the Engineers began tactically fouling to stop the clock. Vanlandingham scored on two free throws to give Earlham a five-point lead.
A Rose-Hulman free throw brought the deficit to four with 41 seconds remaining and the Engineers once again intentionally fouled to stop the clock. Vanlandingham sank both free throws again and the Quakers led 65-59 with 36 second left.
Barbell recorded a block on an Engineer layup on the next possession, but the offense retained possession on the rebound. After a missed 3-pointer, Rose-Hulman turned the ball over out of bounds.
Barbell was fouled on the following Earlham drive and made one of his free throws to get the final score of 66-59 with 12 seconds remaining. The Engineers attempted two 3-point shots in the final seconds but were denied victory.
Earlham will be back on the court on Saturday as Hanover College hosts both the men's and women's teams for a doubleheader. The men's game is scheduled to tip-off at 3 pm, immediately following the women's contest.
