RIPON, Wis. – Ripon College shot a crisp 55.4% from the field for the game and the Lakeland University men's basketball team dropped an 87-79 decision on the road Saturday afternoon in non-conference play.

The Muskies returned to play for the first time in a week but dropped the first game of a quick stretch of three games in five days after concluding final exams. Lakeland is now 4-5 overall while Ripon improved to 2-9 on the season, snapping a seven-game losing streak against a difficult early season schedule.

The Red Hawks made 36 of 65 field goals for the game, including better than 50% in both halves. Ripon did much of its work close to the basket, outscoring Lakeland 60-30 in the paint led by Luke Meinholz scoring a career-best 26 points.

The Muskies fell behind after making 11 of 30 shots in the first half (36.7%), losing contact late in the half. Lakeland led twice and was tied three other times early and trailed just 18-17 after Tim Ward (So.-Plainfield, Ill.) scored with 9 minutes, 33 seconds left in the first half, but Ripon finished the half outscoring the Muskies 24-12 the rest of the way. The Red Hawks led by as much as 14 in the final minute of the half at 40-26, and Meinholz's dunk with three seconds left in the half gave the hosts a 42-29 lead at halftime.

Lakeland made some headway in the second half, getting back within eight when Kai Buliox (Jr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) converted a layup on a fast break to cut Ripon's lead to 57-49. The Red Hawks would respond with eight straight points, though, taking advantage of three Muskies turnovers in a span of 79 seconds, and Cade Tackmeier's rebound and putback made it 65-49 with 9:28 left. The Red Hawks would push the lead to as much as 18, with Lakeland not getting the margin back into single digits until Asanjai Hunter (So.-Racine, Wis.) made a pair of three-pointers in the final 12 seconds.

Hunter finished with 21 points, Buliox scored 16 and Cam Jaeger (Jr.-Oostburg, Wis.) added 12 points for Lakeland, which made 16 of 29 shots in the second half (55.2%) and finished the game making 27 of 59 from the floor (45.8%). Buliox also added a team-best six rebounds.

Meinholz made 12 of 18 shots from the field for Ripon and also added a game-high seven steals. Tackmeier also scored 15 points to lead four Red Hawks scoring in double figures.

The Muskies are back home Monday when they host Loras (Iowa) College for a 5 p.m. start at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.