By: Already leading NCAA Division III in scoring entering the day, Ty Sabin bettered his average with a 39-point performance in an 86-73 win over IC.
Box Score
RIPON, Wis. – The Illinois College men's basketball team had about as much as luck as every other team this season in slowing down Ripon College's Ty Sabin. Sabin came into Saturday as the national leader in scoring at the NCAA Division III level at better than 30 points per game, and he improved on that mark with a 39-point performance in Ripon's 86-73 victory over the Blueboys. The Red Hawks improve to 14-3 (10-2 Midwest Conference) while the Blueboys drop to 6-11 (3-9 MWC).
Mason Speer started the game off with a three-pointer and a steal and coast-to-coast layup to stake Illinois College to a 5-0 lead, but Sabin answered back with a jumper to get Ripon on the board and he later was fouled on a three-pointer and made all three free throws to give the Red Hawks their first lead at 12-10. Later in the half, he converted a three-point play and then canned a three-pointer on the next trip down the floor to increase the Ripon lead to 25-17.
Illinois College responded to the Sabin run with a 6-0 run of its own.
Mitchell Patterson made a three with 6:30 left in the half and
David Bauer was then fouled on a three the next trip down, making all three to cut it to a 25-23 contest. Following a short Sabin jumper to make it 27-23, Bauer knocked down a three off of a
Dom Aiello feed to pull the Blueboys within a single point. Sabin's scoring exploits continued as the half came to a close, but Speer was able to close out the half with a jump shot to make it 38-32 at the break.
The Blueboys got off to a good start in the second half and two
Max Stutsman three-pointers within 15 seconds of each other tied the game at 49-49 with less than 15 minutes to play. Needing a spark, Ripon turned to its star. Sabin was fouled and made two free throws to give the Red Hawks the lead back, and he made yet another three-pointer on the subsequent trip to take a five-point lead. The Blueboys stayed within three points with under 11 minutes remaining, but a quick 7-0 burst from Ripon made it 64-54. The closest IC would get after that was seven points, but the Red Hawks continued to pour it on and grew the lead to as much as 17 points in the closing minutes before closing out the 13-point victory.
Stutsman was the leading scorer in the contest for Illinois College, ending up with a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds. Patterson had 16 points and four assists, while Speer and Bauer each had 14 points.
Illinois College returns home to Sherman Gymnasium on Jan. 31 for a 7:30 p.m. game against Knox College.
