WAUKESHA, Wis. - In a showdown of two of the top three teams in the Midwest Conference, Carroll University walked off the court victorious, defeating Ripon Wednesday night by a score of 72-66. The game was close throughout with neither team leading by more than nine points and both teams shooting above 45 percent from the floor, while combining for just 16 turnovers.

The first half featured four ties and seven lead changes. Carroll (10-1, 6-0 MWC) took an early five-point lead before six consecutive points gave Ripon (7-5, 5-2 MWC) took the lead. The Pioneers would later go up by seven points, but five quick points by Ty Sabin and a three-point play by Ty Ketz quickly put Ripon back in front. Carroll would take a 35-33 lead into halftime as Tyler Diehl drained a 3-pointer for the Pioneers in the final minute before intermission.

Brendan McCoy hit a 3-pointer of his own on the first possession of the second half and two subsequent Sabin jumpers gave Ripon their largest lead of five with just under 18 minutes remaining. Carroll answered with 14 consecutive points to take a 49-40 lead and they would never look back. A Sabin jumper cut the Pioneers' lead to two with 49 seconds to play, but that's as close as Ripon would get.

Sabin led the Red Hawks with 30 points, to go along with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Elliot Hoerdemann added 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while also pulling down a team-high five rebounds. Ketz finished with nine points, all of which came in the first half.

Carroll was led by Bryan Nagy's 14 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots, while Marcus Johnson and Tyler Ingebrigtsen each scored 13. Diehl added 11 points in 19 minutes off the bench.

Ripon will try to rebound on Saturday when they'll host Grinnell College. That game will begin at 1 p.m. at Storzer Center in Ripon.