RIPON, Wis. - Ripon fell to Monmouth College Saturday afternoon 66-63, moving the Fighting Scots into a fourth-place tie with the Red Hawks in the Midwest Conference standings. The game featured three ties and 11 lead changes, all of which came before halftime, as Monmouth survived a late Ripon comeback.

Monmouth (11-12, 9-7 MWC) took control of the game early, hitting a 3-pointer mid-way through the first half to take a 17-9 lead, but Ripon battled back with a 12-3 run to take a one-point lead with seven and a half minutes remaining in the opening period. The lead then changed hands several times, with Monmouth taking a 36-31 lead into halftime.

The second half saw Monmouth keep the Red Hawks at arm's length for the first several minutes, until a Seth Kostroski layup pulled Ripon within two with just under 12 minutes to play. Monmouth would go up by eight with three and a half minutes remaining, only to see Ripon go on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to three with one and a half minutes on the clock. After a Monmouth basket, Trent Jones answered for the Red Hawks to cut the lead to three once more with 54 seconds remaining. The Fighting Scots would then miss a layup, giving Ripon one final chance to tie, but they could not take advantage, falling to the defending MWC Champions for the second time this season.

Ripon was led by freshman Owen Theune's first career double-double in just his second career start, as he finished with career-highs of 15 points and 10 rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting. Kyle Rutkowski also registered a double-double, the second of his career, with 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds (10 offensive). Kostroski chipped in with 14 points off the bench, while Trent Jones finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and two steals.

Monmouth was led by the MWC's leading scorer and rebounder Will Carius, who finished with 35 points and 12 rebounds (four offensive). Tyler Houston added 10 points and five boards for the Fighting Scots, who also received nine points off the bench from Trey Swearingen, making 3-of-6 shots from behind the 3-point line.

With two games remaining in the regular season, Ripon must now win one more game than Monmouth in order to secure the fourth and final spot in the 2019 MWC Tournament. The Red Hawks will be in action again on Wednesday when they'll travel to Lake Forest College. That game will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Lake Forest, Ill., and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.