Ripon College Days

The Ripon College men's basketball team went into their final two games needing to win one in order to ensure themselves of a berth in the upcoming Midwest Conference tournament. They came away with not one win, but two.

Feb. 16 the team traveled to St. Norbert College. They came away victorious by a score of 72-67. They were led by senior Tommy Becker who had 24 points. Three sophomores joined Becker in double digits: Bo Johnson had 18 while Brian Schmitting and David McMullen both kicked in 13.

"A really interesting part of the season has been the improvement of Brian Schmitting. He is going to be a star," says Head Coach Bob Gillespie

While the victory secured them a spot in the post-season, the team wasn't satisfied.

"We wanted to make sure that we wouldn't have to play Lawrence in the first round."

Before Saturday's game against Beloit the team honored its three seniors: Becker, Jared Massen and Andy Williams.

"Everyone wants to win their last home game," says Gillespie. "We also wanted to remain undefeated at home. That was one of the goals that the guys set early in the season."

The Red Hawks were able to complete these goals, beating Beloit 70-58. The team led by 16 points going into halftime, but the lead dwindled to just five with under nine minutes left to play.

"We didn't shoot well at all during the second half," says Gillespie. "We shot 50 percent during the first half, but only 28 percent in the second half."

The team was able to regain the momentum on a monstrous Schmitting dunk and won the game handily. Becker again led the team with 20 points, while Johnson and McMullen chipped in 17 and 16 respectivly.

"McMullen had a big week. He had been in a bit of a slump, but he came through in the big games at the end," Gillespie says.

The Red Hawks will spend the week preparing for the MWC tournament.

"We need to be better defensively," says Gillespie. "Our offense is playing well right now, but we need to keep our opponents from putting a lot of points on the board."

Their first opponent in the tournament will be Lake Forest, with whom the team split the regular season series.

"They play very tight defense, and are a very good team," says Gillespie.

Carroll College will play Lawrence in the other first round game. Ripon also split with both of those teams.

"It should be a terrific tournament," says Gillespie. "If we play the type of basketball that we are capable of, we have as good a chance as anyone at winning it and advancing to the NCAA tournament."

Article Tools