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RIPON, Wis. – Ripon's four seniors led the charge Wednesday night, combining to score more than half of the Red Hawks points in their 82-80 win over UW-Stout. Tyler Fischer, Chris Kellett, Paul Wise, and Eric Wright collectively poured in 43 points, but none were bigger than Wright's basket as time expired to give the Red Hawks their fourth consecutive victory. UW-Stout continues to fall in the other direction, as they dropped their ninth straight.
The game was fast-paced from the opening tip, with UW-Stout (3-10) taking an early six-point advantage. Ripon
(5-5) then went on a 17-11 run to tie the game at 24 with eight and a half minutes remaining. The Red Hawks would then take their first lead since the opening seconds of the game on a jumper by Wise. From there, the two teams battled back and forth with the lead changing several times, in a contest that featured 15 ties and 20 lead changes. After a Kellett 3-pointer and another basket by Wise, Ripon found themselves up by four with three minutes until halftime. UW-Stout battled back however, taking a three point lead with just over one minute remaining. Ripon then proceeded to grab that lead right back, thanks to baskets by Kellett and Wright, giving Ripon a 42-41 lead at the break.
UW-Stout came out firing in the second half, going on the largest run of the game by either team. The Blue Devils scored the first nine points of the half to build an eight point advantage, which was the largest lead of the game. Ripon was able to tie the game once again by scoring 13 of the next 18 points, capped off by a 3-pointer by freshman Marc Leisgang. After the lead changed hands a couple more times, Wright put Ripon in the lead with a three-point play with five and a half minutes left. The score would be tied four more times in the next four minutes, as neither team would give an inch. Ripon looked to finally have control of the game after a layup by Fischer and subsequent missed shot by UW-Stout gave the Red Hawks a three-point lead with the ball and under 40 seconds to play. They could not convert the nail-in-the-coffin shot however, giving the Blue Devils a chance to tie. Jerrel Enerson-Matthews didn't waste that opportunity, nailing a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left. After a turnover by each team, Ripon got the ball under their own basket and inbounded to Wright, who dribbled right and nailed a 17-footer from the wing, sending Storzer Center into a frenzy.
Wright finished with a career-high 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while also making all seven of his free throws. Kellett added 17 points, all of which came in the first half, while also grabbing eight rebounds and recording four steals. Wise finished with 15 points, three rebounds, and four assists, while freshman Martin Esters chipped in with 15 points of his own. Fischer also made some big plays down the stretch, finishing with two points, five rebounds, and three assists. The Red Hawks made 46 percent (26-57) of their field goals, while also sinking 76 percent
(22-29) of their shots and the line. They also did work under the boards, outrebounding the Blue Devils 39-28. The win improves Ripon's series record against UW-Stout to 3-0.
UW-Stout was led by Miles Webb's game-high 21 points off the bench. Enerson-Matthews added 18 points, four rebounds, and five assists in the losing effort. Eric Heisler chipped in with 12 points, while John Donald and Alex Mason each scored 10. The Blue Devils shot an identical 46 percent (26-57) from the field, but were outscored in the paint 32-20.
Ripon will now get back into conference mode, as they'll travel to Lawrence University on Saturday to tangle with the Vikings. That game will begin at 4:00 p.m. in Appleton and will be preceded by the women's contest. Both games can be seen via webcast on www.midwestconference.tv.
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