APPLETON, Wis. - In what was a battle between two teams vying for a spot in this year's four-team Midwest Conference Tournament, Ripon's men's basketball team came away with a much needed victory, defeating Lawrence University 74-59.

In what was a tale of two halves, Lawrence (9-11, 6-5 MWC) never trailed in the opening period, getting off to a hot start, which included scoring the first eight points of the game, en route to an early 13-2 lead. The Vikings took their largest lead of 17 mid-way through the half, but Ripon (12-7, 8-2 MWC) battled back, closing the half on a 22-7 run to cut that lead to two on a Jaylen Mahone layup just before halftime.

On the first possession of the second half, Ripon's Dominic Galati connected on a 3-pointer to give the Red Hawks their first lead of the game. They would never trail the rest of the way. Leading by five with eight and a half minutes remaining, Ripon ended the game on a 17-7 run to secure the victory.

David De Valk led Ripon with one of the best games of his career, recording his fifth career double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds (five offensive), while making 6-of-9 shots from the field and adding two blocked shots. Ryan Steffes added 17 points and five rebounds, while Jaylen Mahone and Owen Theune chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Ripon converted 80 percent (24-30) of their free throws in the game.

Lawrence was led by Brad Sendell's 17 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. Brandon Danowski added 10 points and seven boards, while Elliot Jung posted nine points and seven rebounds. Lawrence converted just 60 percent (9-15) of their foul shots.

Ripon will try to keep their momentum going when they'll travel to first-place Cornell College on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. That game will be played in Mount Vernon, Iowa, and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.