RIPON, Wis. -,Ripon defeated Illinois College 80-71 Saturday afternoon, giving the Red Hawks their best start to a season (6-2) in three years. They did so behind Ty Sabin's career-high 34 points, as he drained seven 3-pointers, which is tied for third in school history.

Ripon led for the majority of the game, as Sabin gave them an early lead, scoring 14 points in the game's first eight and a half minutes. The Red Hawks' largest lead of 14 came with seven minutes left in the opening half thanks to a layup by Jordan Stiede. That was followed by eight consecutive points by Illinois College, which was the beginning of an 11-1 run to get the Blueboys within four. They would eventually pull to within three, but a Brendan McCoy basket, just before halftime, gave Ripon a five-point lead at the break.

Illinois College cut the lead to two thanks to a Brandon Fishburn 3-pointer on the opening possession of the second half. That would be as close as they would get however, as Ripon would lead by as many as 13 late in the period. Ripon closed out the game by making eight of their nine free throws in the second half and shooting 86 percent (19-22) from the charity stripe in the game.

Sabin, who is now averaging 28.1 points per game, converted 8-of-15 from the field on the day, with all but one of his field goals coming from behind the 3-point line. He also made 11-of-12 from the free throw line and finished with five rebounds. Kyle Loughrin added 15 points, four rebounds and a game-high three steals, while Mason Stangl and Justin Leistikow combined for 10 points and 17 rebounds. The Red Hawks committed just eight turnovers on the day.

Tim Schappaugh led Illinois College with 22 points and four assists, while David Bauer scored 12 points off the bench for the Blueboys. Cody Hildebrand and Mitchell Patterson added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Illinois College shot 58 percent (7-12) from the foul line.

The Red Hawks will look for their fourth consecutive win on Friday when they'll host Calvin (Mich.) College. That game will begin at 7 p.m. in Ripon and can be seen live at,http://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.