MONMOUTH, Ill. - Down by 12 points with just over three minutes remaining in Friday's game at Monmouth, the Ripon men's basketball team didn't panic. Instead, they battled adversity and ended the game on a 17-2 run to escape with a 79-76 victory in what was their first conference game of the season.

The game was closely contested in the first several minutes of the first half, but Monmouth (1-3, 1-1 MWC) took control of the game with a 17-3 run to take a 13-point lead with under two minutes left in the first half. The Fighting Scots would lead 45-34 at halftime.

Monmouth continued to lead by double digits early in the second half, but Ripon (3-0, 1-0 MWC) got back into the game thanks to 10 unanswered points, with Koy Brecklinscoring six points during that run. Despite playing themselves back into the game, Ripon fell behind again later in the half as Monmouth took a 12-point lead on a Will Jones free throw with just over three minutes remaining. That's when Ripon's survival instinct kicked in, beginning with a three-pointer by Brendan McCoy. Sabin then scored five quick points, including a 3-pointer, to cut the lead to five. After a Monmouth free throw, Sabin scored another four points to pull the Red Hawks within two. After a Monmouth missed basket, Ripon got the ball back with less than 15 seconds left and it was McCoy who delivered the final heroics, draining a wide open 3-pointer with 11 seconds on the clock. Sabin, who had two defenders converging on him, assisted on that go-ahead basket, giving Ripon the lead for the first time since the seven-minute mark in the first half. After a pair of Elliott Hoerdemann free throws, Monmouth had one last chance to tie it and Jones' desperation three went through the net, but it was determined that he released the ball after the buzzer sounded, giving the Red Hawks the victory.

Sabin scored a game-high 35 points, giving him 1,882 career points, which breaks the previous mark of 1,871, which was held by Scott Gillespie '11. Sabin also added eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals. McCoy added a career-high 22 points on 6-of-8 shooting from behind arc, and is now shooting 72 percent (13-18) from 3-point range this season. Brecklin also chipped in with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, to go along with six rebounds (two offensive). Isaac Masters led the team in assists, with seven.

Monmouth was led by Justin Aluya's 22 points and five rebounds. Jones added a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds, to go along with team-highs of three assists, two blocks and two steals, while Lamont Mitchell scored 13 points, going 3-for-6 from 3-point range.

The Red Hawks won't have much time to savor this victory, as they'll be in action again on Saturday when they'll travel to Cornell College. That game will begin at 3 p.m. and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.