RIPON, Wisconsin – The Ripon men's basketball program got a career game from Michael Asman and a suffocating defense to defeat UW-Superior 60-49 on Saturday afternoon inside Weiske Gymnasium.
 
Ripon (3-3) exacted a measure of revenge on UW-Superior (3-4) after last year's Yellowjacket win up north. On Saturday, the Red Hawks limited UWS to 9-of-33 shooting in the second half, while the visitors missed all 18 of their three-point attempts throughout the game.
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Senior guard/forward Luke Meinholz led all scorers with 19 points and 14 rebounds (a career-high) for his first double-double of the season. He chipped in five steals, four assists and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.
• Freshman forward Michael Asman had the best game of his young career, shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the field with two made triples. He ended with 14 points, three rebounds and three blocks.
• Senior guard Cade Tackmier tallied 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• Junior guard CJ Brown recorded 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Ripon scored six of the first seven points in the game, but Superior came back with six unanswered to take an early 7-6 lead. The teams went back and forth from there, but four straight points pushed Ripon's lead out to six at 23-17 with 8:02 left in the half. However, Superior answered with six in a row of its own and the score was knotted for the first time. The Red Hawks ended the half on a 9-4 run – holding the Yellowjackets to just two made field goals in the final five-plus minutes – to take a 32-27 advantage into the locker room.
 
The offenses stalled in the beginning of the second half, as neither team broke the seal on the basket for over four minutes. A 14-2 spurt by Ripon gave the hosts a 50-33 lead with seven minutes to go in the game, its biggest lead of the afternoon. Ripon led 54-38 with under five minutes to play, but UWS would not go away. The visitors went on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to seven at 54-47, but the Red Hawks allowed just one made field goal in the final two minutes to preserve the victory.
 
KEY STATS

• Ripon had a 46.0% to 35.6% edge in field goal percentage.
• The Red Hawks made 10-of-11 free throw attempts, while Superior was just 7-of-15 from the charity stripe.
• Ripon held statistical advantages in second-chance points (13-9) and fastbreak points (10-7).
• J'Vaun Walker led UWS with 18 points.

UP NEXT
Ripon continues non-conference play on Tuesday, December 3 as the Red Hawks UW-Oshkosh at 7 p.m.
 
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