GALESBURG, Ill. - Needing a win and some help entering Saturday's regular season finale in order to qualify for the 2019 Midwest Conference Tournament, the Ripon College men's basketball team did their part, defeating Knox College 90-65. They didn't get the help they needed however, as Monmouth defeated St. Norbert to claim the fourth and final seed in the MWC Tournament via the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Red Hawks. This marks the first time in Head Coach Ryan Kane's tenure that Ripon is left on the outside looking in for the conference tourney, and first time the Red Hawks have failed to qualify since 2012.

Ripon (15-10, 11-7 MWC) shot 61 percent (36-59) from the field on Saturday, including 63 percent (19-30) in the second half, while also converting 46 percent (5-11) of their 3-pointers on the day. The Red Hawks took an early seven-point lead just four and a half minutes into the contest, and never looked back. They grabbed their first double-digit lead a couple minutes later, and led by as many as 19 in the half, while taking a 44-26 lead into intermission.

The Red Hawks led by double digits for the entirety of the second half, leading by as many as 28 on a Ben Young 3-pointer in the final minutes. Ripon out-rebounded Knox (1-24, 0-18 MWC) by a 39-19 margin, while holding the Prairie Fire to 39 percent (11-28) shooting in the first half.

Cal Schultz led Ripon with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, finishing his career with 1,052 points, which ranks 27th in program history. Schultz also ends his career tied for the school record in both games played and consecutive games played (100). Trent Jones added 16 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals, while Tyson Tully finished with 12 points, three rebounds, and a career-high four assists.

Knox was led by Jordan Rayner's 16 points, while Justin Windt finished with 10 points and three rebounds. Blake Godbold and Malcolm Bray each scored nine points.