JACKSONVILLE, Illinois – The Ripon men's basketball program led by as many as nine on Saturday afternoon, but a late run by Illinois College gave the Blueboys a 65-52 victory over the Red Hawks inside Sherman Gymnasium.
 
In a game that featured seven ties, five lead changes and 48 total fouls, Illinois College (6-2, 1-1 MWC) scored 12 consecutive points out of a tie game with eight minutes remaining to take command.
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Senior guard/forward Luke Meinholz scored a game-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting, chipping in eight rebounds and two steals.
• Junior guard CJ Brown recorded six points and three assists.
• Sophomore guard Jarton Davis contributed five points, four rebounds and two steals.
• Senior guard Cade Tackmier added five points and three rebounds.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
After IC led 6-4, Ripon (3-5, 0-1 MWC) countered with 11 consecutive points to pull in front 15-6 halfway through the period. It took almost 12 minutes for the Blueboys to outscore Meinholz – the senior had 10 points in the first 11 minutes of the game as the Red Hawks grabbed a 17-9 lead. From there, IC scored 10 of the next 13 points, cutting its deficit to 20-19. Trailing 23-20, Illinois College scored six of the last eight points in the half to claim a slim 26-25 intermission edge.
 
Neither team was able to create immediate separation after halftime – the largest lead for IC early on was four while Ripon tied it on multiple occasions in the first nine minutes. A layup by Meinholz gave the Red Hawks their first lead of the second half, 36-35, but IC reclaimed the advantage soon after. With the sides tied at 40, a key 12-0 spurt by the Blueboys – spanning nearly four minutes – gave Illinois College a lead it would not relinquish. Ripon was unable to make it a single-digit game the rest of the way en route to the road defeat.
 
KEY STATS

• Ripon shot 32.2% (19-of-59) from the field, besting IC's 30.9% output (17-of-55).
• Illinois College was 26-of-39 from the free-throw line, while Ripon only attempted 14 free throws and made eight.
• The Blueboys had a 29-12 advantage in bench points and a 53-31 rebounding edge.
• Ty Lenhardt led IC with 17 points off the bench.

UP NEXT
Ripon returns home to face Knox at 3 p.m. on Saturday, December 14.
 
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