RIPON, Wis. - Ripon defeated Lawrence 82-44 Wednesday night to clinch a spot in the Midwest Conference Tournament for the fifth consecutive season, which is the program's longest such streak in 17 years. Ripon shot 54 percent (32-59) in the game, including 68 percent (21-31) in the second half, while holding Lawrence to just 26 percent (16-61) shooting in the contest. This marks Ripon's ninth consecutive win against Lawrence and is the fewest points the Red Hawks have allowed in a game in 13 years.

Despite the final result, Lawrence gave Ripon all they could handle in the early going, scoring the game's first three points and getting out to a 14-7 lead with 12 minutes left in the first half. Lawrence (8-11, 9-6 MWC) continued to lead until the six minute mark when a pair of Ty Sabin free throws gave Ripon a lead they would not relinquish. The Red Hawks scored the final 12 points of the half to take a 28-19 lead into halftime, as Lawrence went scoreless for the final seven minutes of the period, missing their final seven shots from the field.

Ripon (15-5, 12-3 MWC) extended their lead to double digits with a jumper by Brendan McCoy on the opening possession of the second half. Ripon pushed that lead to 20 just minutes later, opening the half on a 13-2 run. The Red Hawks led by double digits the rest of the way, scoring the final 18 points of the game in the last four minutes of the contest.

Sabin led all scorers with 29 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, with 24 of those points coming in the second half, while adding six rebounds and game-highs of five assists and three blocks. Isaac Masters chipped in with 12 points, 10 of which came before halftime, while Cal Schultz posted seven points and four rebounds. Mason Stangl added six points and a career-high 11 rebounds (four offensive).

Lawrence was led by 11 points from Jeremy Stephani. Quinn Fisher added 10 points, to go along with team-highs of four assists and four steals.

With the win, Ripon remains in second place in the MWC standings, still two games back of conference-leader St. Norbert. The Red Hawks will be in action again on Saturday when they'll travel to Illinois College. That game will begin at 3 p.m. in Jacksonville, Ill. and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.