JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College men's basketball team ground out a 65-52 victory over Ripon in a Midwest Conference contest on Saturday afternoon at Sherman Gymnasium.
The victory moved IC to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in league play while the Red Hawks moved to 3-5 and 0-1.
IC 65 Ripon 52
Both teams opened the game with struggles on offense as IC shot .267 (8-30) and Ripon .296 (8-27) in the first 20 minutes. The Blueboys were able to take a 26-25 lead in the break despite trailing by as much as eight points in the early going.
The second half was tight in the early stages and the Red Hawks held a 36-35 lead with 11:08 to play before the Blueboys went on a 20-6 run over the next six-plus minutes to essentially put the game away. The lead grew to as much as 16 (60-44) with 2:37 remaining before IC cruised home to post its first conference victory of the campaign.
Ty Lenhardt was the only Blueboy in double figures as he scored 17 points.
Buzz Ritzel added nine points and 10 rebounds while
Seth Doss chipped in with eight points and 10 boards.
Blue Notes
IC has won 38 of its last 45 games and 55 of the past 62… Ritzel now has 977 career points while
Josh Harris (eight points today) sits at 951 in their quest to join the 1,000 career-point club at IC.
Up Next
The Blueboys will make their 2024-25 Midwest Conference road debut next Saturday when they travel to Lawrence for a 3:00 p.m. contest.
