RIPON, Wis. - Ripon earned their second win in as many games to start the 2016-17 season, defeating Loras College 105-100 Saturday night in what will go down as the greatest individual scoring performance in the 119-year history of the Ripon College men's basketball program.

The first half was a barn-burner, with Ripon (2-0) taking a 51-46 lead into the locker room, but things got really interesting in the second half. After scoring just eight points in the opening period, two-time All-American Ty Sabin put the Red Hawks on his back in the second half, finishing the game with a single game school record of 53 points, breaking his own record of 51, which was set last season. Sabin scored 45 of Ripon's 54 second half points, shooting 12-of-13 in the final 20 minutes, including 5-of-5 from 3-point range, and making 16-of-20 free throws. The Red Hawks needed every last one of Sabin's points as the game featured 18 ties and 21 lead changes.

Ripon's six-point halftime lead quickly dissipated in the second half, which saw Loras go on a 10-0 run in the first two and a half minutes. That run was stopped by a pair of Sabin free throws, which was the beginning of a stretch that saw him score 17 of the team's next 18 points during a six and a half minute stretch, tying the game at 69 on a 3-pointer with under 11 minutes to play. After a jumper by Elliot Hoerdemann gave Ripon a two-point lead with just under six minutes left, Sabin scored Ripon's next 17 points, including a sequence that saw him nail back-to-back 3-pointers, followed by a steal and a dunk to extend a one-point lead to nine in a one-minute span. The Red Hawks led by 11 after a Sabin jumper with one and a half minutes remaining, but Loras (2-2) fought back to cut that lead to two with 13 seconds on the clock. Sabin then iced the game with three free throws in the final seconds, sending Ripon to victory.

Ripon finished the game shooting 59 percent (31-52) from the field, including 52 percent (11-21) from 3-point range. In addition to his 53 points on 15-of-22 shooting, Sabin also posted four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. He now has 1,847 career points, which is just 24 shy of Scott Gillespie's '11 school record. Brendan McCoy added 20 points, making all five of his first half shots, including four 3-pointers, for a team-high 14 first half points. Isaac Masters chipped in with nine points, all of which came in the first half, to go along with a team-high four assists.

Loras shot 47 percent (35-74) in the game, including 25 percent (7-28) from 3-point range. They were led by 28 points and four rebounds from Justin VanWambeke, while Ryan DiCanio notched a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with a team-high five assists. Christian Mathis and Danny Quinn finished with 19 and 17 points, respectively.

The Red Hawks will now go on the road for the first time this season as they'll open conference play on Friday at Monmouth College. That game will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Monmouth, Ill. and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.