RIPON, Wis. - After shooting 35 percent (14-40) in the first half Tuesday night, Ripon's men's basketball team came out white hot in the second half, shooting 60 percent (18-30) after halftime to coast to an 88-62 victory against Lawrence University. Ripon also dominated the boards all night, out-rebounding the Vikings 50-25, with 20 of their rebounds coming on the offensive end, helping them outscore Lawrence in second chance points by a 23-7 margin.

Ripon (16-6, 13-4 MWC) never led in the first half, as Lawrence (11-12, 7-10 MWC) came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, getting out to a 14-3 lead just four and a half minutes into the contest, making all four 3-pointers they attempted during that span. Trailing 21-11 mid-way through the half, Ripon slowly worked their way back into the game, going on a 13-5 run to cut the lead to two on a four-point play by Isaac Masters. Lawrence then built their lead back to seven with three and a half minutes remaining in the half before Ripon scored the final seven points of the period to force the game's first tie, as the teams headed to the locker room knotted up at 36.

The Red Hawks grabbed their first lead of the day on a Tyler Semenasjumper on Ripon's opening possession of the second half. That was the beginning of a 26-8 run to give Ripon an 18-point lead with 12 minutes remaining. Ripon would lead by at least 15 points the rest of the way, taking their largest lead of 27 on a jumper by Aidan Nordquist in the final seconds.

Ripon converted 12 3-pointers in the game, which is tied for eighth in school history. Semenas led the team with 24 points and 10 rebounds (five offensive) for his third double-double in the last four games, while adding three assists, two blocks, and three steals. Cal Schultz added 18 points, shooting 4-of-7 from 3-point range, while Seth Kostroski scored 13 points off the bench on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Trent Jones finished with 12 points, five rebounds, and three steals.

Lawrence was led by Jeremy Stephani's 18 points on 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Bryce Denham added 14 points and four steals, while Mason Materna scored seven points.

The win keeps Ripon tied for second with St. Norbert in the Midwest Conference standings. With Monmouth's win Tuesday night, they have clinched the right to host the 2018 MWC Tournament. Ripon will close out their regular season schedule Saturday against Knox College at 1 p.m. in what will be their final tune-up for the conference tournament. That game can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/ and it will also be Senior Day for the Red Hawks, honoring Zach Bart, Nathan Larson, Owen Schaalma, Elliot Hoerdemann, Koy Brecklin, Tyler Semenas, and Isaac Masters.