RIPON, Wis. - Ripon's men's basketball team defeated Illinois College 68-64 Saturday afternoon in what was the first conference game of the season for the Red Hawks. Both teams shot 46 percent from the field in the contest.

Ripon (3-3, 1-0 MWC) scored the first basket of the game on a David DeValk jumper, but would quickly fall behind by 10 thanks to a 20-8 run by the Blueboys (4-5, 0-2 MWC). The Red Hawks battled back to take the lead on a Ryan Steffes layup with three minutes remaining in the half, but an Illinois College layup in the final seconds would give the Blueboys a one-point halftime advantage.

The Red Hawks would take the lead in the opening minute of the second half on a 3-pointer from Jaylen Mahone and they wouldn't trail the rest of the day, holding Illinois College at bay in the final minutes.

Mahone and DeValk led Ripon with 14 points apiece, while Drew Jorgensen finished with 10. Owen Theune also chipped in with nine points, eight rebounds, and three assists.

Illinois College was led by Jake Mazrimas' 17 points and seven rebounds. Tre Rogers added 16 points, while Hunter Ottensmeier added 10 points and six boards.

Ripon will be in action again on Friday when they'll travel to 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/.