RIPON, Wis. - Ripon College men's basketball coach Ryan Kane entered Tuesday's game against #15 UW-La Crosse with four career wins against top 25 teams to his credit. He narrowly missed a fifth against the Eagles, falling 75-74 in overtime in a game that featured 13 ties and nine lead changes. UW-La Crosse turned the ball over just five times, while forcing 16 Ripon turnovers, which the Eagles turned into 20 points.

The two teams were stuck in a back-and-forth battle for the first seven minutes of the contest, before a 7-0 run gave UW-La Crosse an eight-point lead mid-way through the period. The Eagles would hold onto that lead until the final two minutes, which saw Jack Brady hit a pair of 3-pointers, giving Ripon a 33-32 halftime lead.

UW-La Crosse would grab the lead back in the opening minutes of the second half, taking a seven-point lead just five minutes into the period. That lead quickly evaporated however, thanks to baskets by Braeden Thies and David DeValk and a 3-pointer from Drew Jorgensen to tie the score at 45 with 13 and a half minutes left in regulation. Jorgensen connected on another 3-pointer on Ripon's next possession to give the Red Hawks the lead, which would extend to eight points on a 30-footer from Brady, which marked his third 3-pointer of the contest. UW-La Crosse would then score the next eight points to tie the game at 58 with seven and a half minutes left in the half. Neither team led by more than two points during the rest of regulation, with Wyatt Cook connecting on a pair of clutch free throws for La Crosse to tie the score at 68 in the final minute and send the game to overtime.

In the extra frame, a Cook jumper gave UW-La Crosse the first lead of the period, which saw the Eagles go up by four with three and a half minutes to play. Ripon cut that lead to a single point with eight seconds to play and after UW-La Crosse missed the front end of a one-and-one, the Red Hawks had a chance to win, but their final shot would be no good.

Jaylen Mahone led Ripon with 15 points, while Ryan Steffes added 14 points, five rebounds, and a team-high six assists. Owen Theune added 14 points and eight rebounds, while David DeValk recorded nine points and team-highs of 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.

UW-La Crosse was led by Ethan Anderson's 16 points. Cook added 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists, while Seth Anderson chipped in with 12 points and nine boards.

The schedule won't ease up for the Red Hawks, who will face the sixth-ranked team in Division-III on Saturday when they travel to Wheaton (Ill.) College. That game will begin at 4 p.m. in Wheaton, Ill., and can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/c/WheatonThunder.