JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College men's basketball team couldn't keep up with a physical and efficient Ripon College team on Saturday afternoon, falling to the Red Hawks by a score of 108-64. The Red Hawks maintain their place near the top of the Midwest Conference standings, improving to 10-5 (6-2 MWC). The Blueboys fall to 4-12 (2-7 MWC).
Both teams suffered from slow starts, with Ripon taking the lead on a free throw before
Hunter Ottensmeier made his return to the lineup with a layup to put the Blueboys ahead, 2-1, after three minutes of action. From there, the Red Hawks would score 10 unanswered points before a pair of
Steven Price free throws.
Despite the early deficit, Illinois College hung tough until midway through the half. A technical foul after a Ripon foul allowed the Blueboys to connect on three free throws and shrink the deficit to 17-13. The Red Hawks responded with a quick 8-0 burst to grow the lead to double-digits, then later added an 11-0 run as the IC offense began to go cold. By halftime, Ripon was on top, 57-33.
The closest the Blueboys got in the second half was on a
Mason Speer layup on the opening possession. The Red Hawks scored seven straight from there and the lead grew throughout the remainder of the game.
In a foul-marred contest, Ripon ended the day 26-for-29 at the line while the Blueboys went 17-for-24 as a team. Tyson Tully was the leading scorer in the game with 25 points for Ripon. Illinois College was led by 10 points from
Riley Mehrens. Speer,
Kane Wildermuth and
Tim Parks all added nine.
IC goes on the road on Jan. 16, taking on Monmouth College at 7:30 p.m.
