The Ripon College men's basketball team scored the game's final 5 points to come away with a 57-53 victory over visiting Lawrence University Saturday evening. The win moves Ripon to one-game over .500 at 11-10 on the season and are now 7-5 in Midwest Conference play.
 
Ripon led for most of the first half, gaining the lead just a minute and a half into the contest and not relinquishing it until there was 51 seconds before halftime. The Red Hawks led 11-10 with over 12 minutes left in the opening half, but over the next 7 minutes Ripon proceeded to go on an 11-2 run to take their first largest lead of the game. Lawrence rallied to take the lead with 51 seconds left but a three-pointer by Jaylen Mahone gave Ripon the edge going into the locker rooms.
 
The Red Hawks maintained a slight lead for the first 8 minutes of the second half, but Lawrence used a 9-0 run that put Ripon behind by 8 points, their largest deficit of the game. Ripon, however, countered with a 14-0 run that turned their 43-35 deficit to a 49-43 lead with 3:56 to play. The Red Hawks surrendered the lead with a minute to play, but some key plays down the stretch and a 5-of-6 showing from the free throw line secured the home victory for Ripon.
 
Jaylen Mahone led Ripon with 17 points in 32 minutes on the floor. He shot 7-of-16 from the floor and connected on 2-of-4 three-point attempts. Cade Tackmier hit 3-of-5 from distance en route to a 15-point outing, while Ryan Steffes and Luke Meinholz combined for 17 points while going 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the win. David DeValk didn't register a point in his 13 minutes of play but grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds. Meinholz had a game-high 4 steals and Mahone led all players with 2 blocks.
 
Ripon moved into a tie for fourth in Midwest Conference play and takes on the team sitting second in the standings, Cornell College, at home on Thursday, February 9th. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.