Complete Results
Hot shooting by Ripon College, especially the Red Hawks' two starting guards and a forward, caused problems for the Prairie Fire in the Midwest Conference opener for both teams at Wyman Gymnasium on the Ripon campus.
The Red Hawks, predicted by the Midwest Conference coaches to finish second in the league behind nationally ranked favorite St. Norbert College, shot 67 percent in the first half and nearly 59 percent overall in the 97-79 victory against the Prairie Fire.
Ripon moved to 3-1 overall with the win and 1-0 in league play. The loss was the third straight for the Fire (1-3, 0-1 MWC).
The Fire hung with the Red Hawks in the first half by holding the hosts to just four offensive rebounds and committing only seven turnovers. A jumper by junior Joe Kozak (Park Ridge, Illinois) cut the Red Hawk lead to five at 35-30 with 3:33 to play in the first half. Ripon, however, finished strong -- closing the half with a 9-4 run to take a 44-34 lead at the break.
The Red Hawks were generally able to maintain a double digit lead in the second half. Knox got within seven on three different occasions, but Ripon responded each time and added to the lead. The Prairie Fire tried, but couldn't get back into the game from long distance. After shooting 1-of-13 from three point range in the first half, Knox connected on seven threes in the second half, but finished 8-of-32. The Fire shot 43 percent overall.
Ripon held a healthy advantage from the free throw line. The Red Hawks made 27-of-36 from the stripe compared to 13-of-17 for the Fire.
Ripon starters Scott Gillespie, Taylor Koth and Aris Wurtz combined to score 82 of their team's 97 points. Gillespie poured in 28 points and dished out nine assists. He's now fourth on the all-time Red Hawk career scoring list with 1,523 points. Koth recorded his second double-double of the season with 25 points and 14 rebounds and Wurtz scored a game-high 29 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Senior forward Matt Goedeke came off the bench to pace the Prairie Fire offense with 18 points. The Yates City, Illinois native also led his team with nine rebounds. Junior Ben Wetherbee (Sydney, Australia) scored 17 points and Kozak added 12.
The Fire resumes its road trip against Midwest Conference teams with a game Saturday in Waukesha, Wisconsin against Carroll University. The tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
