Box Score

RIPON, Wis. - Ripon's offense was clicking on all cylinders from the outset Saturday afternoon, as the Red Hawks defeated Illinois College 85-62 in a game they never trailed. Ripon shot at least 50 percent in each half, en route to a 56 percent (30-54) shooting night that included an 11-for-16 (69 percent) performance from 3-point range.

In what was a sign of things to come, the Red Hawks (4-3, 2-2 MWC) made their first three shots of the game and led 9-0 before Illinois College (3-2, 1-2 MWC) could even get on the board. The Blueboys would score the next six points, but that is as close as they would get the rest of the day, as Ripon promptly scored eight consecutive points of their own to take a double-digit lead just seven minutes into the contest. Leading by seven with six minutes left in the half, the Red Hawks finished the period on a 16-5 run to take an 18-point lead into halftime.

The onslaught continued in the second half, which never saw Ripon's lead dip below double digits. The Red Hawks' largest lead of the game came with two minutes left when a 3-pointer by Brendan McCoy gave them a 25-point lead.

Ripon had four players score in double digits, led by Ty Ketz's 20 on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc, to go along with team-highs of five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Justin Leistikow tied a career-high with 16 points, making all six of his field goals, including three from 3-point range. Kyle Loughrin and Ty Sabin also chipped in with 13 and 11 points, respectively, and four assists apiece. Ripon scored 14 fast break points, while giving up two such points to Illinois College.

The Blueboys were led by Brandon Berry's team-highs of 18 points and seven rebounds, as he became the 29th player in Illinois College men's basketball history to score 1,000 career points. Nathan Kohler added nine points and a team-best four assists.

Ripon will try to build on this performance next weekend when they'll travel to Carroll University on Saturday. That game is scheduled to tip-off at 1 p.m. in Waukesha, Wis. and can be seen live on http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/ripon.portal#.