RIPON, Wis. - Ripon received nearly a third of their points from their bench Saturday afternoon, en route to a 68-66 overtime victory against Wheaton (Ill.). The Red Hawks shot 42 percent (24-68) from the field, while holding Wheaton to 35 percent (24-68) shooting.

Wheaton (4-2) scored the game's first five points of the game, but Ripon (4-1) answered back with six consecutive points of their own. Wheaton then grabbed the lead back and led for the majority of the first half until Drew Jorgensen connected on a pair of free throws with one minute left in the half to give Ripon a one-point advantage, and eventually head to the locker room with a 27-25 lead.

Ripon continued to add to that lead in the second half, going up by as many as 12 with 12 minutes left in regulation. The Red Hawks still led by nine with four minutes left, before Wheaton mounted a furious comeback. The Thunder saw Gavin Hawkins connect on a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute to tie the score with seven seconds remaining and send the game into overtime.

In that extra period, the score was tied twice, while the lead changed hands two more times. Wheaton tied the game at 66 on a free throw with just less than a minute remaining, setting the stage for Trent Jones to play hero. Jones connected on a jumper with three seconds left for the win, as Wheaton's desperation mid-court shot went off the rim at the buzzer.

Ripon was led by Jones and David DeValk, who each scored 13 points, while adding eight and seven rebounds, respectively. Kyle Rutkowski added 10 points and nine rebounds, while Ryan Steffes and Jaylen Mahone each scored nine points. Eight players scored for the Red Hawks, with six of them netting eight points or more.

Nyameye Adom led Wheaton with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Collin Uveges scored 13 points. Hawkins and Tyson Cruickshank each finished with 10 points.

The Red Hawks will be in action again on Wednesday when they'll open their conference season at Beloit College. That game will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Beloit, Wis., and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.