IC Slips Past Ripon, Moves on to MWC Championship Game

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Illinois College had three players in double figures and used a late second half surge to move past Ripon, 72-68, in the semifinals of the Midwest Conference Tournament at Sherman Gymnasium on Friday night.

The win moved the top-seeded Blueboys to 22-4 while the fourth-seeded Red Hawks retired at 11-15.

Midwest Conference Player of the Year Jake Mazrimas led all scorers with 24 points while fellow first team All-Midwest Conference honoree Buzz Ritzel added 19. Josh Harris scored 11 with a team-high four assists and came up clutch in the late stages. Nestor Daboin grabbed a game-high nine rebounds for IC.

The Blueboys roared out of the gates, leading 20-9 just six minutes into the contest and led by as much as 13 in the first period. IC took a 37-29 lead into halftime. 

Ripon came charging out the break and fought back to tie the game at 46 with 11:32 to play and held a 53-48 with 9:13 to go before Harris went on a personal 5-0 run to give the Blueboys the lead, a lead they never relinquished. The Red Hawks were able to get as close as two, but Ritzel hit four consecutive free throws in the game's final seconds to ice the victory.

IC will meet second-seeded Grinnell on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. for the league title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Game time is 3:00 p.m.