LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Ripon's men's basketball team defeated Lake Forest 91-84 Wednesday night to remain in the race for the fourth and final spot in the 2019 Midwest Conference Tournament with one game remaining. The Red Hawks, who have never missed the postseason in Ryan Kane's six years as Head Coach, shot 56 percent (31-55) from the field against Lake Forest, including 47 percent (8-17) from 3-point range.

The first half saw Ripon (14-10, 10-7 MWC) make 63 percent (20-32) of their shots and 50 percent (6-12) of their 3-pointers in a period that saw 10 ties and nine lead changes. The Red Hawks took control of the game at the end of the half with a 14-4 run, as Trent Jones gave them an eight-point halftime lead with a 3-pointer just before the buzzer sounded.

Jones picked up where he left off in the second half, converting a three-point play on Ripon's first possession to push their lead to double digits. The Red Hawks would lead by as many as 12 in the game, but that lead would be cut to four with under four minutes remaining. A Cal Schultz 3-pointer minutes later would extend Ripon's lead to nine, and would be too much for the Foresters (16-8, 12-5 MWC) to overcome.

Jones led Ripon with 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while also pulling down nine rebounds. Tyson Tully added 19 points, on 9-of-13 shooting, and four rebounds off the bench. Ryan Steffes also chipped in with 16 points and four 3-pointers, while Schultz and Seth Kostroski finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Lake Forest was led by Tashon Brown's 28 points, while Danny Sotos added 15 points and four rebounds off the bench. Sam Husting also chipped in with 14 points and eight boards.

With the win, Ripon remains in a fourth place tie in the MWC standings with Monmouth College. The Red Hawks will bring their regular season to a close on Saturday at Knox College, needing a win against the last-place Prairie Fire and a Monmouth loss against conference-leading St. Norbert in order to make the MWC Tournament for the seventh consecutive season. Ripon's game on Saturday will begin at 3 p.m. in Galesburg, Ill.