Box Score

RIPON, Wis. - For the second time in less than two weeks, the Ripon men's basketball team defeated Lawrence University, winning 95-81 Wednesday in come-from-behind fashion. The Red Hawks trailed for virtually the entire first half and entered halftime down by 10. The tides changed in the second half thanks in large part to Ripon's 76 percent (22-29) shooting in the final 20 miniutes.

Ripon's only lead of the first half came on the game's first possession when Brad Brooks scored on a putback of his own shot. Lawrence (6-8, 4-5 MWC) answered with a 3-pointer by Jamie Nikitas, which was the beginning of a 14-2 run that put the Vikings in command. Lawrence's largest lead of the half came with eight and a half minutes left when a Chris Siebert 3-pointer put them up by 15. Ripon (10-5, 7-3 MWC) was able to whittle that down to five, but Lawrence ended the half on an 11-4 run to take a 12-point lead into the break.

Lawrence scored six of the first eight points of the second half to take their largest lead of 16 with 18 minutes remaining, which is when Ripon made its move. They preceded to go on a 24-6 run, including a string of 13 consecutive points to take a two-point lead on a jumper by Brooks with 12 minutes to play. After the two teams traded baskets a few times, Ripon took the lead, holding Lawrence at arms length until the last few minutes of the contest, as they ended the game on a 15-5 run to secure the victory.

Ripon was led by Kyle Loughrin, who put the team on his back at times, en route to a career-high 31 points on 13-of-18 shooting. Ty Sabin added 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including four 3-pointers. Ty Ketz chipped in with 11 points and a team-high five assists, while David Klink posted 11 points and five rebounds off the bench, while making all five of his shots. Brooks finished with his second consecutive double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds), which also marked the seventh of his career.

Trace Sonnleitner led Lawrence with 19 points off the bench, while Siebert had 18, as the duo combined to make seven 3-pointers. Nikitas added 15 points, while Ryan DePouw scored 14, to go along with a game-high seven assists.

The win, combined with Grinnell's loss to Illinois College moves Ripon into second place in the Midwest Conference standings. The Red Hawks will have a chance to gain even more breathing room, as they'll travel to Grinnell on Saturday. That game will begin at 1 p.m. in Grinnell, Iowa and can be seen live on http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/ripon.portal.