FRIDAY, FEB. 27 - Semifinals
Ripon 79, Lake
Forest 75 (OT)
Ripon qualified for its 9th MWC championship game appearance in the last ten years
as the Red Hawks fought off a courageous effort by first-time tourney entry Lake Forest to win
in overtime. Ripon fell behind early as the Foresters came out firing and led for most of the
first period. Ripon sliced the LFC lead to one point, 33-32, at the half and took the lead
early in the second period behind a balanced scoring attack. However, the Hawks could not put
away a determined Lake Forest team and, after Matt Becker missed the second of two free throws
with under 10 seconds remaining in regulation, LFC had a chance to tie. Justin Leonard's
off-balance jumper in the lane at 0:03 gave the Foresters new life and forced the extra
period. The two teams traded leads and it appeared another overtime was coming when LFC senior
Ryan Hayes canned a long three-pointer but a blocking foul on Forester senior Mike Ansani put
Becker at the line again with 0:02 on the clock. The junior calmly sank two foul shots and
Ripon added another pair for the final margin of victory. With the victory Ripon extends its
school-record winning streak to 20 games and is now 22-1 on the season. Lake Forest ends at
11-12.
Lawrence 79, Monmouth 68
The defending champion Vikings built a slight advantage late in the first half, extended its
lead after the break and then held off a spirited Monmouth comeback to reach the MWC title
game for the second straight year. Lawrence took a 5-4 lead at 16:49 of the first half and was
never fronted again. An 11-2 LU run gave the Vikings a ten-point margin with less than two
minutes to play in the first half. Lawrence led 31-24 at the break and by as many as 13 points
before five three-pointers by Monmouth junior Jeremy Bruce in five minutes helped to incite
the home crowd. Monmouth got as close as three points at 59-56 with 4:34 remaining but another
big 14-5 Viking run extinguished any hopes of a Scots victory. Senior Joel DePagter scored 17
of his team-high 29 points in the second half, including 7 of 9 from the foul line, to key the
Lawrence win.
SATURDAY, FEB. 28 - Championship
Ripon 73, Lawrence 60
The Ripon Red Hawks won their 21st
consecutive game and their first Midwest Conference championship since 1992 by downing the
defending champion Lawrence Vikings in the title game at Monmouth. The Hawks, who had finished
second four straight seasons between 1993 and 1996, defeated LU for the third time this season
and earned the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
Ripon started to pull away late in the first half, using a 13-2 run to stretch their lead to
12 points, and enjoyed a 36-26 cushion at the break. Lawrence chipped away in the second
period, eventually getting to within five at 47-42 with 13:45 to play, but the Hawks fought
off the challenge. Five points by Bret VanDyken, who would finish with 15, and four by senior
guard Adam Zakos, who led Ripon with 20 points, helped to extend the margin to 19 with 8
minutes left in the game and the Vikings were never within a dozen points the rest of the
game. Tim Gera and Matt Becker each added 11 for Ripon and Lawrence was led by senior Ben
Zagorski's 21 points. Ripon advances to the NCAA Tournament at 23-1 while Lawrence ends its
season at 16-8.
