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Ripon Goes Cold During Second Half; Drops Season Opener
November 17, 2006
Box Score
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. - The Red Hawk men's basketball team opened thier first game of the year Friday night, the way teams want to start the season, on top. Unfortunately for Ripon though, it's a 40 minute ball game. The Red Hawks got out to a 20 point halftime lead, but could not hold on, losing to Buena Vista in overtime 85-80 in game one of the UW-Platteville tournament.
The Red Hawks (0-1)led by as many as 23 points in the first half, while shooting 57 percent in the period, including 40 percent from three-point range. Senior forward Bo Johnson came out of the gates like a firecracker, scoring 21 first half points on 7-of-9 shooting. Buena Vista (1-0) shot just 41 percent from the field in the first half, as they had to play catchup from the outset.
And catch up, they did. Ripon took their largest lead of the second half with under 18 minutes remaining in the ball game on a David McMullen three-pointer, which put the Red Hawks up by 22. After that, Buena Vista began chipping away at that lead. BVU cut the Ripon lead to single digits with eight and a half minutes remaining, and used a 23-5 run to cut the lead to four with seven minutes left in regulation. Despite the furious comeback, Ripon didn't trail the entire half. Nursing a three point lead, The Red Hawks turned the ball over with under one minute to play. Buena Vista's Andre Wagner made them pay by nailing a three-pointer to tie the game at 71 and send it to overtime.
Buena Vista gained their first lead of the game since the 13:00 mark of the first half on a Brian Fogleman layup to start the extra period. BVU never looked back, as they wouldn't trail again the rest of the night. Brian Schmitting tied the game on a layup with a minute and a half left to play, but that was as close as it would get the rest of the night, as Buena Vista was able to ice the game with some free throws.
The Ripon scoring attack was led by Johnson, who finished with 25 points, just four coming after halftime. Vehantre Brown finished with 17, while Brian Schmitting and Paul Wise chipped in with 14 and 10, respectively. McMullen ended the game with seven points, five rebounds, and seven assists.
Buena Vista was led by Wagner, who scored 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Fogleman finished the contest with 16 points, while Travis Person scored 10, while also recording nine rebounds and six assists.
The Red Hawks won't have much time to rest, as they'll be in action tomorrow against Viterbo (WI) in day two of the UW-Platteville Tip-Off Classic. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m. in Platteville, Wis.
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