RIPON, Wisconsin – Luke Meinholz scored 20+ points for the fourth time this season – and the second time in the last four games – as the Ripon men's basketball program outscored Lawrence by 18 in the second half to defeat the visiting Vikings 75-52 on Wednesday night inside Weiske Gymnasium.
 
Both Ripon (5-12, 3-5 MWC) and Lawrence (3-14, 1-7 MWC) shot 40.0% from the field in the first half, but the Red Hawks shot a scorching 60.7% from the field – and 50.0% from deep – in the second half to command the final 20 minutes and continue its decade-long dominance over the Vikings.
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Junior guard Luke Meinholz scored a game-high 20 points, adding 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals – his eighth game this season with at least three steals.
• Senior guard Connor Spielvogel had 14 points off the bench, including a quartet of three-pointers. He now has nine games this season with three or more made three-pointers.
• Senior guard Dominic Galati tied a season-high with 13 points, also collecting 4 steals and 3 assists. 
• Senior guard Cade Tackmier impacted the game in a variety of ways with 5 points, 6 assists and 3 blocks.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
It was a defensive battle at the onset as neither team shot particularly well at the beginning of the game. Lawrence led by as many as six in the first 10 minutes as it took Ripon over 11 minutes to cross into the double-digit threshold. After the Vikings led 19-15 with 5:52 left in the half, Ripon went on a 9-0 run to pull ahead for good with under four minutes left until halftime. Though Lawrence trimmed its deficit to one on multiple occasions, Spielvogel hit a triple with eight seconds left and the Red Hawks held a 32-27 advantage after the first 20 minutes of play.
 
Ripon asserted itself just moments into the second half. After a Viking layup cut Ripon's lead to four, the Red Hawks went on a 7-0 spurt to lead by double digits at 40-29. Following a brief Lawrence run, a 9-0 spark by Ripon gave the Red Hawks a 16-point lead and effectively put the game out of reach with 14 minutes to play. From there, Lawrence never got closer than 14. The Red Hawks ended the game on an 11-3 run to win their third Midwest Conference game of the season, remaining just two games back of the fourth and final spot in the race to advance to the Midwest Conference Tournament.
 
KEY STATS

• Ripon shot at least 50.0% from the field for the third time this season, going 29-of-58 from the field while holding Lawrence to 35.4% shooting (17-of-48) – a season-low percentage allowed by the Red Hawks.
• The Red Hawks made 11 of 21 three-pointers, marking the fourth time this season with double-digit treys. The Vikings were just 4-of-14 (28.6%) from deep – the second consecutive game Ripon has allowed only four made threes.
• Ripon tied a season-low with 7 turnovers and forced 16 Viking turnovers.
• Hogan Demovsky had a team-high 14 points for Lawrence.

UP NEXT
Ripon returns on the road to face Grinnell on Saturday (January 20) at 1 p.m.
 
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