WHEATON, Ill. - Ripon lost their season-opening game Saturday afternoon at Wheaton (Ill.) by a score of 74-67. The Red Hawks led for the first 25 minutes of the game, before the Thunder mounted a comeback. The second half featured five ties and three lead changes, while both teams finished the game shooting 37 percent from the field.

The Red Hawks (0-1) got off to a hot start, making their first two shots on a Trent Jones 3-pointer and a layup by Kyle Rutkowski. Wheaton (1-0) battled back to tie the game with 14 and a half minutes left in the half, but a basket by Cal Schultz put Ripon in front again, which they extended to a 14-point advantage thanks to a 23-9 run mid-way through the half. Wheaton was able to cut that lead to nine at the half.

Ripon opened the second half with a basket by Schultz, which extended their lead to double digits once more, but Wheaton then scored the next 14 points over a five-minute span to take their first lead of the game with 14 minutes left in the second half. Ripon answered with a 3-pointer by freshman Ben Young, which tied the game at 44, and was followed by a layup by Jones to give Ripon the lead once more. The two teams would play pretty evenly for the next several minutes, with the score tied at 55 with seven and a half minutes left. Wheaton then went on a 17-7 run to put the game away, taking a 10-point lead in the final minute.

Jones led all players with 27 points, while adding 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Schultz added 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while freshman Owen Theune recorded 10 points and five rebounds off the bench. The Red Hawks shot 35 percent (7-20) from 3-point range, including 50 percent (5-10) in the first half.

Wheaton was led by Aston Francis' 26 points, making 7-of-15 3-pointers, while also pulling down 10 rebounds. Nyameye Adom added 17 points and four rebounds off the bench, while Kobe Eichelberger scored 11 points, to go along with four rebounds. The Thunder shot 44 percent (10-23) from 3-point range, including 54 percent (7-13) in the second half.

Ripon will now try to rebound next weekend when they'll play their home opener Saturday against UW-La Crosse at 3 p.m. That game will be played at Weiske Gymnasium in Ripon, and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.