RIPON, Wisconsin – A strong start gave way to a cold-shooting second half as the Ripon men's basketball program fell 67-59 to St. Norbert on Wednesday night inside Weiske Gymnasium in the Red Hawks' home opener.
 
Wednesday night's game was a tale of two halves. After opening the game on a 20-6 run, Ripon (2-2) allowed a 19-2 run by St. Norbert (2-0) to open the second half as the Red Hawks shot just 20.6% in the second stanza.
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Senior guard Cade Tackmier scored a game-high 16 points, adding a career-high 12 rebounds and two assists for his first career double-double.
• Senior guard/forward Luke Meinholz recorded 14 points, eight steals, six rebounds and three assists.
• Junior forward Kolby Williams tallied 14 points, six rebounds and two steals.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Ripon couldn't have asked for a better start to its 2024-25 home slate as the Red Hawks scored the first eight points of the game, holding the Green Knights scoreless for over three minutes. After SNC scored a basket and a free throw, Ripon went on a 7-0 spurt to push its lead to double digits. St. Norbert made a 20-6 deficit a 20-14 one after eight consecutive points, but Ripon answered immediately with five in a row of its own. Leading 34-22, Ripon conceded six of the last eight points in the half – including a successful three-quarter court buzzer beater by Jaeden Grade – to lead 36-28 at the break.
 
SNC parlayed its first half-ending momentum into the second half, where the Green Knights stormed back into the game with 10 consecutive points to take their first lead of the game. Tied at 38, nine consecutive points by the opposition gave them a 47-38 lead with 11:10 left in the game. Ripon would not go away, and seven-straight points brought the Red Hawks within a basket. From there, St. Norbert pushed its lead to 61-53 with 3:32 to go. However, the Red Hawks made one final push as six consecutive points made it a two-point game with under a minute to go. SNC scored the final six points of the game at the free throw line, thwarting any chance of a Ripon comeback as the Red Hawks missed their last three shots of the game.
 
KEY STATS

• SNC shot 44.7% from the field (21-47) for the game and 11-of-23 in the second half (47.8%).
• Ripon only turned the ball over eight times, forcing 13 SNC giveaways.
• Neither team shot well from beyond the arc; Ripon was 6-of-22 from deep and SNC shot 4-of-17 from three-point range.
• Jamison Nickolai led St. Norbert with 12 points.

UP NEXT
Ripon visits Carthage for a 6 p.m. tip on Tuesday, November 26.
 
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