RIPON, Wis. – The Lawrence University men’s basketball team battled back in the second half Saturday, but Ripon College held on for a 56-50 Midwest Conference victory at Weiske Gymnasium.
Lawrence trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half before cutting the lead to three, but Ripon held the Vikings to just two points over the final 5:34.
Casey Schoenecker and Nicolas Manzanera led Lawrence (6-19, 4-12 MWC) with 12 points apiece. Schoenecker added four rebounds and two steals, and Manzanera had three rebounds and a pair of assists.
Nolan Koch came off the bench to score eight points for the Vikings, and Caleb Nash picked up seven points.
Luke Meinholz paced Ripon (12-13, 9-7) with 14 points, and Cade Tackmier had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Ripon led 31-30 at the half, but the Red Hawks raced out 43-30 advantage to start the second half.
The Vikings battled back with 10 straight points. Koch started the run with a pair of free throws before Manzanera buried a 3-pointer. After a Koch layup, Manzanera made a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 43-40 with 12:19 left.
Ripon’s lead then hovered between four and eight points, and Schoenecker’s layup with 5:34 remaining trimmed the margin to 52-48. Tackmier and Schoenecker traded layups to keep the margin at 54-50, but Lawrence missed its next five shots from the floor to finish the contest.
Women’s basketball
Ripon 68, Lawrence 54
The Lawrence University women’s basketball team rallied Saturday, but Ripon College held off the Vikings for a 68-54 Midwest Conference win at Weiske Gymnasium.
Ripon led by as many as 14 points in the first half, but Lawrence closed to within five points multiple times before the Red Hawks pulled away in the final four minutes in the regular-season finale.
Ripon will host the Midwest Conference Tournament on Feb. 28-March 1, and Lawrence will play Grinnell College in the tournament semifinals next Friday. The tournament winner receives an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Charlotte Brennan and Kate Adams scored 12 points apiece to pace Lawrence (18-7, 12-4 MWC), and Brennan handed out a game-high five assists. Adams went 4-for-6 from the floor, including 2-for-4 from 3-point range.
Lawrence’s Mallory Meyer scored nine points and added two rebounds and now has 996 points for her career. Sophie Morey picked up eight points for the Vikings and collected five rebounds.
Ella Ten Pas led Ripon (21-4, 15-1) with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Ripon led 32-18 in the opening half, but the Vikings scored the final five points of the second quarter. Maggie Culver hit a 3-pointer and Caroline Sharpe converted a pair of free throws to trim the margin to 32-23 at the break.
Lawrence opened the second half with two baskets from Morey and another from Culver to cut Ripon’s lead to 34-29. The Red Hawks would push the lead back to 11 at one point, and Lawrence cut it back to five at 46-41.
A pair of Brennan free throws to end the third quarter and a jumper from Meyer to start the fourth trimmed the margin to 51-45 early in the fourth quarter. Ripon then held the Vikings scoreless for nearly seven minutes to pull away.
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