The victory vaulted the Red Hawks to 17-6 on the season and 11-5 in the Midwest Conference. Beloit College fell to 8-15 overall and 5-11 in conference action.
The Red Hawks took control of the game early and never looked back Saturday. Ripon led 38-20 at the intermission and cruised to the 12-point victory.
Becker, a definite All-America candidate and a frontrunner for the Midwest Conference Player of the Year honor, had 20 points on the night with six rebounds, five assists and five steals. Bo Johnson, the other half of Ripon’s infamous duo of Batman and Robin, tallied 17 points with David McMullen adding 16 points.
As a team, Ripon shot 38 percent (23-60) from the floor, 30 percent (7-23) from beyond the arc and a red hot 85 percent (17-20) from the charity stripe.
Nick Hendry led Beloit College with 15 points and a game high of nine rebounds. Josh Hinz added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Danny Towns had 12 points. As a team, the Buccaneers shot 45 percent (24-53) from the field, 27 percent (3-11) from long range and 53 percent (7-13) from the free-throw line.
The Red Hawks will now prepare for the 2005 Midwest Conference Men’s Basketball Championship at Lawrence University on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25-26. The Red Hawks will play Lake Forest College on Friday at 5 p.m. with Lawrence University taking on Carroll College at 7 p.m. The championship game is Saturday at 3 p.m.
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