MOUNT VERNON – The men's basketball race for first place in the Midwest Conference tightened Wednesday night with Ripon's 76-69 win over league-leading Cornell inside the Small Sport Center.
Cornell (14-6 overall, 9-2 MWC) remains atop the conference standings, now only one-half game ahead of Ripon (13-8 overall, 9-3 MWC). Cornell beat the Red Hawks, 63-57, on Jan. 29 in Ripon, Wis.
The Rams, in pursuit of their first regular-season title in 28 years, still control their own destiny with five games to go over the next 10 days.
The stretch begins this weekend with a rare home-and-away series on consecutive days against Lawrence (9-12 overall, 6-6 MWC). The teams play at 1 p.m. Saturday in Mount Vernon, and meet again Sunday in Appleton, Wis.
Wednesday's game had a postseason feel and was hotly-contested. Knotted 38-38 at halftime, Ripon gained control early in the second half and built its biggest lead at 60-46 with 9:18 left. The Rams mounted a comeback late, cutting the deficit to 69-64 on a
Cooper Kabela 3-pointer with 45 seconds to go.
Ripon made 7-of-8 free throws in the final minute to hold off the Rams.
Cornell's
Jordan Magnani tallied a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while also dishing a game-high five assists. Kabela went for 13 points and seven rebounds.
Logan Sharp and
Logan Christensen chipped in 11 points apiece. Christensen, who hit three 3-pointers in the opening half, added nine rebounds and four assists to his solid stat line.
The Rams were held to 34.3-percent shooting in the second half. The Red Hawks connected on 10-of-20 3-point goals and received 19 points apiece from Owen Theune and Ryan Steffes.
