MONMOUTH, Ill. - Ripon's men's basketball game Saturday afternoon was never in doubt, as the Red Hawks never trailed en route to a 68-50 win at Monmouth College. Ripon shot 42 percent (26-62) in the game, including 38 percent (8-21) from 3-point range, while holding the Fighting Scots to just 33 percent (20-60) shooting. The win, coupled with Cornell's loss to Lawrence, moves Ripon into first place in the Midwest Conference standings with three games to play.

Ripon (14-7, 10-2 MWC) started the day on fire, scoring the game's first 10 points in the opening three and a half minutes. Monmouth wouldn't get within fewer than six points the rest of the afternoon. The Red Hawks' largest lead of the first half was 18 points when Jaylen Mahone drained a jumper with three and a half minutes remaining before halftime.

After taking a 14-point lead into intermission, Ripon continued to pour it on in the second half, which saw them lead by double-digits for the entire period. They used a 16-2 run, capped by another Mahone jumper mid-way through the half, to take a 25-point advantage. Mahone would connect on yet another jumper to give Ripon their largest lead of 28 points in the final minutes.

Ryan Steffes led Ripon with his first career double-double, scoring 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range, while pulling down a career-high 10 rebounds. Owen Theune added nine points, while Mahone chipped in with eight points, while tying a career-high with eight rebounds.

Monmouth (3-18, 2-11 MWC) was led by Jonathan Oradiegwu and Will Ewald, who each scored 11 points. Kendall Brasfield added nine points and three assists off the bench.

Ripon will try to keep their momentum going on Tuesday when they'll host Lake Forest College. That game will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Ripon, Wis., and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.