Men's Basketball

Quakers Beat Rose-Hulman to Win Mutchner Cup

For Immediate Release:
Dec. 14, 2006

RICHMOND, Ind. — A balanced attack, solid defense and nearly perfect free throw shooting proved to be the difference Thursday for the Earlham College men’s basketball team as the Quakers claimed the Mutchner Cup for the first time in three years with a 70-62 win over Rose-Hulman on Schuckman Court in the Athletics and Wellness Center.

Earlham had four players in double figures and made 23-of-25 chances from the free-throw line, but it was the tempo at the other end of the floor that helped the Quakers win their second straight contest. “Our zone defense slowed them down a lot,” Earlham Head Coach Jeff Justus said.

Senior LaRon Henry (Indianapolis, IN/Scecina) led the Quakers with 15 points, while making all eight of his free throws.

Junior Nick Welsh (Muncie, IN/Wes-Del) and sophomore Tristian Gregory (Evansville,IN/Harrison) tossed in 14 points each. Junior point guard Neil Collins (Ft. Wayne, IN/North) added 11 points with a career-high 10 rebounds for his first double-double.

The only starter not in double digits was senior leading scorer Markous Jewett (Richmond, IN/Richmond) who finished with seven points. “Rose-Hulman was prepared to put the clamps on him,” Justus said. “It’s going to take at least eight guys contributing for us to be successful.”

Earlham’s success against the Engineers (4-5) started early as the Quakers jumped out to a 5-0 lead after Henry hit a 3-pointer with 18:49 on the clock. Rose-Hulman eventually bounced back to go in front 9-7 at the 15:47 mark of the opening period.

The Quakers pulled away and led 24-15 with 6:57 remaining in the first half, but the lead wouldn’t last as the Engineers tied the game at 26-26 with 2:30 left.

Scoring the last nine points of the half helped by a four-point play by Collins, Earlham led 35-26 at intermission. Collins was fouled as hit a 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds on the clock and then made a free throw to give the momentum to the Quakers heading into the locker room.  

In the second half, Earlham’s lead grew to 13 points before Rose-Hulman started a comeback. The Engineers closed the gap to 60-59 with 2:18 remaining, but the Quakers finished the contest with 10-3 run to put the game away.

Since its inception in 2000, the Quakers have a 4-3 edge in games played for the trophy named for John Mutchner, who was inducted into the Earlham Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998. Mutchner also coached at Rose-Hulman for 25 years and has a bond with both institutions. “He coached me in college and it does mean a lot to win and get the trophy back,” said Justus, who is a 1978 Rose-Hulman graduate.

Overall, Earlham has a 53-39 advantage in the series that began in 1905.    

Earlham (2-5) visits Franklin College on Saturday. The non-conference game is at 3 p.m. Earlham all-time scoring list. Box Score.

—EC —

Contact:
Don Tincher, sports information director
765/983-1795 — E-Mail Don

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This page last updated: Dec. 14, 2006