BELOIT, Wis. - Ripon's men's basketball team shot 59 percent (30-51) from the field Wednesday night, including 62 percent (8-13) from 3-point range, en route to an 80-71 victory at Beloit College. The win is Ripon's sixth in a row, placing them in a second-place tie in the Midwest Conference standings, just one game out of first place.

Ripon (11-5, 8-3 MWC) came out firing from the outset, making six of their first eight shots and converting 67 percent (16-24) of their first half shots. After the lead changed hands a few times in the opening minutes, Ripon used a 17-4 run to break a tie and take a 28-15 lead with nine minutes left before halftime. That helped Ripon take a 10-point lead into the break.

Beloit (2-16, 1-10 MWC) cut that lead to seven with a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the second half, before Ripon again extended their lead to double digits. With the Red Hawks leading by 14 five minutes into the half, Beloit made their move, scoring 12 consecutive points to pull within two on three straight 3-pointers by Cody Risseeuw. Ripon answered with back-to-back 3-pointers by Isaac Masters to extend the lead to eight, but Beloit kept battling back, getting as close as three with five minutes remaining. The Red Hawks then used a 13-4 run to put the game away, while making eight of their final nine free throws, and shooting 80 percent (12-15) from the line in the game.

Ripon had four players score in double figures, led by Tyler Semenas' career-high 27 pointson 8-of-12 shooting. Masters added 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Trent Jones chipped in with 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Cal Schultz finished with 10 points, making all five of his field goal attempts.

Risseeuw and Nathaniel Shead led Beloit with 19 points apiece, while combining to make nine 3-pointers. Tristan Shoup added 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Beloit shot 41 percent (28-69) from the field and 40 percent (12-30) from 3-point range.

The Red Hawks will be in action again on Saturday when they'll travel to Illinois College. That game will begin at 1 p.m. in Jacksonville, Ill. and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.