JACKSONVILLE, Illinois – Cade Tackmier hit a game-winner jumper with eight seconds left, the Ripon men's basketball program battled back from a seven-point deficit with under four minutes left and the Red Hawks stunned Midwest Conference-leader Illinois College 77-75 on Saturday afternoon inside Sherman Gymnasium.
In a wild game that featured 12 ties and 19 lead changes, Ripon (3-11, 1-4 MWC) was down 70-63 with 3 minutes and 39 seconds left, but the Red Hawks stifled Illinois College (13-2, 5-1 MWC) down the stretch with a game-ending 14-5 run. On Ripon's last possession, Tackmier wound the clock down and hit a pull-up from the right elbow to give the Red Hawks the lead, while the Ripon defense forced a turnover on the last possession of the game to secure the win.
The win not only gave head coach
Kenny Finco his first Midwest Conference win, but it was the Red Hawks' first victory in Jacksonville since January of 2019.
STANDOUT HAWKS
- Junior guard Luke Meinholz scored a career-high 27 points on 12-of-21 shooting. He added 8 rebounds and 2 assists. The Oconomowoc native has now scored 26+ points twice in his last four games.
- Senior guard Cade Tackmier added 23 points (tying a career high), 5 rebounds and 4 assists. This marks the fourth consecutive game he's scored in double figures, and sixth in the last seven outings.
- Sophomore forward Kolby Williams followed up a career game on Thursday with another strong showing, tallying 17 points and 9 boards.
- Junior forward Jayden Fitch collected 7 rebounds in addition to 4 points.
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Ripon jumped out to a 9-5 lead, but neither team led by more than five in the first 12 minutes. With the Red Hawks leading 22-20, a 7-0 Blueboy run gave Illinois College a 27-22 lead with 8:06 left in the half. The IC advantage grew to seven, 37-30, before Ripon responded with a 7-0 spurt of its own to tie the game with under two minutes remaining in the half. Fitch made a basket at the buzzer to give Ripon a slim 41-39 lead at the half in an entertaining 20 minutes that featured nine ties and 11 lead changes.
Meinholz scored the first basket of the half on a dunk, but IC responded with eight consecutive points to reclaim the lead. With nine minutes left, Meinholz made a jumper to give Ripon a 61-60 advantage, but IC again pulled ahead on the next possession. Though Ripon was down 70-63 with 3:39 left thanks to a 6-0 Blueboy run, a 12-2 run gave the Red Hawks the lead with under 50 seconds left on an old-fashioned, three-point play by Williams. On the next possession, IC answered with a triple to even it up once again. With five seconds left, Tackmier played the role of hero; the Red Hawks got a stop and escaped Jacksonville with the important MWC win.
KEY STATS
- The teams shot very similarly as Ripon shot 44.3% from the field (31-of-70) while Illinois College was 27-of-59 (45.8%).
- Ripon tied a season-low with only 8 turnovers while forcing 16 Blueboy turnovers.
- Buzz Ritzel had a team-high 26 points for Illinois College.
UP NEXT
Ripon stays on the road for a matchup at Lake Forest on Tuesday (January 9) at 5:30 p.m.
FOLLOW
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