Box Score

RIPON, Wis. - Saturday's game was about as tightly contested as one could be for one half of play, which saw Lawrence take a one-point lead into halftime. The second half was a different story however, as the Vikings scored 55 points on 70 percent shooting (16-23), giving them a 97-75 victory.

Lawrence (17-6, 13-3 MWC) started the first game just as hot, making their first five shots to take an 11-2 lead just two and a half minutes into the game. Ripon (9-13, 7-9 MWC) battled back with a flurry of their own points, going on an 11-3 run to cut the Lawrence lead to a single point. Ripon's first lead of the game came on a three point play by Aris Wurtz six minutes before halftime. The lead changed hands a couple times in the final six minutes, before a pair of Ryan Kroeger free throws put the Vikings up one heading into the break.

The Vikings scored the first seven points and 15 of the first 17 points of the period to take a double digit lead. That lead wouldn't dip below double digits the rest of the afternoon, as Lawrence hit six of seven 3-pointers and 17 of 18 free throws in the period.

Scott Gillespie led the Red Hawks with 23 points, which puts him over 400 points for the second consecutive season. He is just the eighth player in Ripon history to score that many points in more than one season and has two years left to become the second Red Hawk to achieve that feat in three seasons with the team. Wurtz added 20 points in the loss, while Andy Perrine chipped in with nine points.

Lawrence had four players score in double figures, led by Jayce Apelgren's 28 points. John Dekker added 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Kroeger and Chris Page recorded 16 and 15 points, respectively. Doug Kadison set his teammates up nicely with 10 assists.

With the loss, Ripon's 2008-09 season comes to an end. Saturday's game was highlighted by the recognition of the team's four seniors, Charles Belt, Rich Cloeter, Shawn Karsten and Grant Oleson, all of whom greatly contributed to the Ripon basketball program.