RIPON, Wis. - Ripon's men's basketball team looked like a well-oiled machine early in Tuesday's season opener against Wisconsin Lutheran. The Red Hawks never trailed in the game, starting the game on a 21-4 run, en route to an 82-73 victory. Ripon finished the game shooting 40 percent (8-20) from 3-point range, while holding the Warriors to 29 percent (6-21) from beyond the arc. The Red Hawks were able to grab the early lead thanks to shooting 54 percent (15-28) from the field in the first half.

Ripon's first possession of the season was a sign of things to come as Brendan McCoy connected on a 3-pointer just 14 seconds into the contest. Senior Ty Sabin scored 10 of the Red Hawks' first 21 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers to give Ripon an early 14-point lead. Ripon (1-0) took their largest lead of the first half with eight minutes left when McCoy scored on a layup to grab a 26-6 lead. Ripon took an 18-point lead into halftime when Isaac Masters converted a jumper in the final seconds.

Just like the first half, the second half began with a 3-pointer from McCoy to give Ripon a 21-point advantage. The Red Hawks largest lead of the game would come a few minutes later when an Elliot Hoerdemann layup put them up by 22. The next seven minutes saw Wisconsin Lutheran (1-1) climb back into the game thanks to an 18-5 run, cutting the lead to nine with nine and a half minutes remaining. The Warriors would pull to within seven on several occasions in the final minutes, but they couldn't get closer than that.

Sabin led all scorers with 33 points in 33 minutes, leaving him 77 points shy of Ripon's career scoring record. He also finished with seven rebounds and five assists, while converting 3-of-7 3-pointers and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. McCoy added 19 points, making 3-of-5 from 3-point range and all eight of his free throws. Hoerdeman added eight points and six rebounds.

Wisconsin Lutheran was led by Collin Kennedy's 26 points and nine rebounds. Chase Nowak added 16 points and five boards, while Christian Walz scored 10 points, making all four of his shots, including two from 3-point range.

The Red Hawks will be in action again on Saturday when they'll host Loras College. That game will begin at 7 p.m. at Wyman Gymnasium in Ripon, and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.