DE PERE, Wis. - Ripon couldn't overcome 14th-ranked St. Norbert's 71 percent (22-31) shooting in the first half Tuesday night, as the Green Knights took a 19-point lead into halftime and coasted for an 85-65 victory. St. Norbert also outscored Ripon 28-12 in the paint in a game they led for nearly 38 of the 40 minutes.

The game was tightly contested early on, with neither team leading by more than six during the first six and a half minutes. Ripon's first and only lead came on their first possession when Ty Sabin connected on a jumper. Sabin would score nine points in the first five minutes, but as hot as his shooting hand was, St. Norbert's was just as scorching, making seven consecutive shots and 12-of-13 at one point. St. Norbert (16-1, 12-0 MWC) also converted their first six 3-pointers, giving them plenty of breathing room at the half.

Ripon (11-6, 8-4 MWC) was able to cut SNC's lead to 16 several times in the second half, but couldn't get any closer thanks in large part to shooting 29 percent (10-35) after halftime.The Green Knights cooled off a little after the break, converting 46 percent (13-28) of their field goals.

Sabin finished with a game-high 35 points on 12-of-18 shooting, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Brendan McCoy added 11 points off the bench on 4-of-4 shooting, which included three 3-pointers.

St. Norbert was led by Andrew Schwoerer's 23 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists. Austin Elliott added 19 points, four rebounds, and six assists, while D.J. DeValk finished with 11 points, going 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point line.

Even with the loss, Ripon remains in third place in the MWC standings. They'll be in action again Saturday when they'll host Grinnell, which is just one game behind the Red Hawks. That game will begin at 3 p.m. in Ripon and will feature the top two scorers in the NCAA, across all divisions (Jack Taylor and Sabin). It can be seen live at,http://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.