DE PERE, Wis. - The Red Hawks ended Wednesday night's game at St. Norbert much like they began it, scoring buckets. The two halves were reversed, with Ripon getting out to an early lead, then St. Norbert taking over. The second half saw the Green Knights try to hold the lead, but fail, as the Red Hawks squeaked out a 67-65 victory.

Ripon (3-3, 2-0) scored the first two baskets of the game and didn't trail until over nine minutes into the game, when St. Norbert's Eric Gruenwald's three-pointer gave the Green Knights (2-3, 2-1) the lead. Bo Johnson hit a three pointer with a minute and a half left in the half, cutting the Green Knight lead to one, but St. Norbert would score the final two baskets of the half to take a five point lead into the locker rooms. Gruenwald scored 14 points in the first half on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range.

The second half had the same feel to it as the first, only with the two teams changing roles. Gruenwald hit another three-pointer with under 16 minutes remaining, giving St. Norbert a nine-point lead. That's the largest lead the Green Knights would enjoy the rest of the night, as the Red Hawks would begin chipping away at the deficit. Ripon went on a 14-7 run during the next seven minutes, capped by a three-pointer by Vehantre Brown, cutting the St. Norbert lead to two points. After a couple St. Norbert baskets, the Red Hawks would make one last run. Ripon's Paul Wise gave them their first lead of the half on a layup with just over two minutes left to play. The Red Hawks wouldn't trail the rest of the way, but St. Norbert made things interesting in the end, making a three-pointer with two seconds left, cutting the lead to one point. David McMullen then sank one of two free throws with one second left, but St. Norbert couldn't get a desperation heave off at the end, and the Red Hawks remain undefeated in conference play.

Ripon received a spark off the bench from Chris Kellett, who finished with a team-high 20 points and five rebounds. Johnson finished with 17, while David McMullen scored 10 points, while also recording five rebounds, eight assists, and four steals. The Red Hawks only turned the ball over six times in the ball game, while shooting 46 percent.

Gruenwald led St. Norbert with 20 points, but only scored six in the second half. Tony Jandron scored 18 for the Green Knights, while Tom Katzfey had 11 points and nine rebounds. St. Norbert shot just 33 percent in the second half and 39 percent for the game.

The Red Hawks will now have a couple weeks off before playing again. Their next couple games will be at the South Padre Island Shootout in Houston, Texas. They will take on Hardin-Simmons (TX) on December 29 at 6:00 p.m. The following day, they will be in action once more, facing the University of Hardin-Baylor (TX), also at 6:00 p.m.