HOLLAND, Mich. - Ripon's best season in a decade in a half came to an end Friday night in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament with an 87-72 loss to ninth-ranked Washington University-St. Louis. The Red Hawks led by 15 points at halftime, but couldn't hold on, as they were outscored 60-30 in the second half.

WashU (21-5) began the game much like they ended it, scoring the game's first five points and getting out to a 10-3 lead less than three minutes into the contest. Ripon (20-6) stayed in the game early thanks to Isaac Masters, who scored seven of the team's first 10 points, helping the Red Hawks stay within four points with 15 minutes left in the first half. Then Ty Sabin happened. Sabin scored the next six points to give Ripon their first lead of the game. After WashU cut the lead to one with eight and a half minutes left in the period, the Red Hawks scored 14 consecutive points, with 10 of those coming from Sabin, including eight in a one-minute span. Sabin continued to put on a show as Ripon closed the half on a 19-5 run, with the senior finishing with 25 points in the period, hitting another jumper just before halftime to give Ripon a 42-27 lead at the break.

Ripon continued to lead by double digits for the first seven minutes of the second half, leading by as many as 16 points. But after shooting 50 percent (15-30) in the first half, Ripon would go cold in the second, making 38 percent (12-32) of their field goals. WashU on the other hand, converted 70 percent (21-30) of their second half shots after making just 30 percent (10-33) prior to halftime.

The first few times WashU cut the lead to single digits, Ripon answered with a basket. After a Mason Stangl bucket put Ripon up by 10 with just under 11 minutes left, WashU climbed back into the game using a 15-5 run to tie the game at 65 with five minutes remaining. The Bears took their first lead of the game since the early minutes on a 3-pointer by Clinton Hooks with under four minutes to play. That was the beginning of a 20-5 run to end the game.

Sabin finished with a game-high 43 points, which leaves him just two shy of becoming the third player in Midwest Conference history to score 800 points in a single season, while his 798 points is just 17 shy of the MWC record. The three-time MWC Player of the Year and two-time All-American finishes his career with a school record 2,559 points, which is the second-highest total in MWC history, to go along with a school record 283 3-pointers. The NCAA's active leader in career scoring average, across all divisions (26.1 ppg), Sabin finished his historical senior season with a school record 30.7 points per game, which is tops in Division-III, and three points per game more than the previous record, which he shared.

Masters added 11 points and three rebounds for the Red Hawks in Friday's game, while Cal Schultz chipped in with six, making both shots he took, each coming from beyond the 3-point line. Stangl finished with a team-high six rebounds (three offensive), to go along with five points.

WashU had four players score in double figures, led by Hooks' 25 points, including seven 3-pointers. Andrew Sanders added 23 points, while Matt Highsmith scored 20 off the bench.

Ripon's 20 wins this season are tied for the sixth-highest total in program history, helping them advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 15 years. The Red Hawks set a program record for points in a single season with 2,126, while their 81.8 points per game are sixth in school history. They also set a school record with 218 3-pointers on the year, while ranking fourth in school history for 3-point percentage (.452), tied for fifth in field goal percentage (.516), and tied for ninth in free throw percentage (.751).