DEPERE, Wis. - Ripon's fourth consecutive trip to the Midwest Conference Tournament ended abruptly Friday afternoon with a 58-55 loss to Carroll University in the MWC semi-finals. The Red Hawks posted season-lows in points and shooting percentage, making 18-of-56 (32 percent), including 7-of-24 (29 percent) from 3-point range.

The game was fairly sluggish for much of the day, with the teams combining to miss the game's first eight shots and neither squad scoring during the first four minutes. Once Ripon (15-9) took the first lead of the day on a pair of Nathan Larson free throws, they wouldn't trail for the remainder of the half, leading by as many as eight points. Carroll's Ben Widdes would hit what turned out to be a very important 3-pointer just before halftime to cut Ripon's lead to 30-25 heading into intermission.

The second half saw Carroll (20-4) score eight of the first 10 points to take their first lead of the day, but Larson answered with a 3-pointer to put Ripon back in front with just over 15 minutes to play. The two teams then exchanged 3-pointers, before Carroll scored the next nine points to take their largest lead of seven points with under 11 minutes remaining. The Red Hawks then went on a 9-2 run of their own, capped by a pair of Larson free throws, and they would later take the lead on two Brendan McCoy free throws with a minute and a half on the clock. Carroll answered with a traditional three-point play from Joel Heesch which gave the Pioneers the lead for good. Ripon had one final shot to tie the game, but their 3-pointer bounced off the rim as the final buzzer sounded.

Ripon was led by McCoy's 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting, to go along with three steals, while Ty Sabin finished with 11 points, all of which came in the first half. Senior Ty Ketz added 10 points and four steals in his final game as a Red Hawk. Ripon finishes the season with 15 wins for the third consecutive year. After making all 12 of their free throws on Friday, the Red Hawks finish the year with the ninth-highest free throw percentage in program history (.751). The also set a new school record for 3-pointers in a season (195) and rank eighth for 3-point percentage (.405).

Kyle Keranen led Carroll with 15 points, to go along with five rebounds and three steals, while Bryan Nagy chipped in with 12 points and six rebounds. Heesch led all players with 12 rebounds (four offensive), while also recording nine points and a game-high six assists. The Pioneers shot 41 percent (22-54) in the game, including 35 percent (6-17) from 3-point range.