Box Score

RIPON, Wis. – For much of Friday's game, Illinois College's basket seemed as big as an ocean, with nearly everything falling through the net. More than half of the Blueboy's field goals came from behind the 3-point line, where they shot 53 percent (16-30), en route to a 91-82 win over the Red Hawks. Ripon on the other hand went cold at times, shooting 38 percent (28-74) from the field.

The game started off with a flurry of 3-pointers by both sides. Ripon (8-11, 3-9) started the madness with a Chris Kellett shot from long-range. That was answered by back-to-back threes by Illinois College's Mark Gillingham and Joe Womble. After another Womble deep-ball, the Blueboys (8-11, 4-8) took a 15-10 lead, just four minutes into the game. Kellett cut that lead to two on another 3-pointer, but that's as close as the score would get until the end of the half. Illinois College extended their lead to 13 on yet another Womble 3-pointer. Ripon then closed out the half on a 14-3 run, which was capped off by a Scott Gillespie lay-up with just seconds remaining, sending Ripon to the locker room trailing 51-49.

The Red Hawks wasted no time tying the score, knotting it up at 51 on a basket by Tyler Fischer. Illinois College then did what they were doing all night, hitting back-to-back threes once more, thanks to Brad Johnson and Zach Ficker. Kellett then hit another 3-pointer to cut the lead in half. After Illinois College got out to another six point lead, Ripon answered back, eventually tying it at 64 on a lay-up by Fischer. Ficker then hit two consecutive

3-pointers to put Illinois College up by six once again. Ripon never led in the second half, but would get to within two points the rest of the way, as Josh Bailen connected on a shot with 8:40 to play. Neither team scored for the next three minutes and the game was still tight with three minutes to play when Paul Wise hit a shot, pulling Ripon to within two once more. Illinois College would then seal the win, their first in their last nine games, with clutch free throws down the stretch, making 8-of-11 at the charity stripe in the final minute and a half.

Gillespie led the Red Hawks with 19 points and five assists, while Kellett added 18 points and seven rebounds. Ripon also received some great play off their bench, as Josh Bailen and Alex Tomsheck each recorded career-highs with 15 and six points, respectively. Tomsheck also added eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Wise finished the game with 10 points, while Fischer led the team with 11 boards.

Illinois College was led by Johnson's 22 points and four assists. Mitchell Neally added 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Ficker scored 15 off the bench, on 5-of-5 shooting from behind the arc. Womble added 12 points, while David Stewart led the team with 12 rebounds.

The Red Hawks will try to rebound on Saturday when they'll host Knox College at Storzer Center. That game will tip off at 3:00 p.m. and will be preceded by the women's contest. The game will be highlighted by an appearance by J.J. Jumper, the official mascot of the NCAA. Both games can be seen on www.midwestconference.tv.