(De Pere, Wis.) – The Carroll University men's basketball team advanced to the finals of the Midwest Conference Tournament following a 58-55 come-from-behind victory over Ripon College.
 
The Red Hawks led by eight points with 25 seconds remaining in the first half but CU's Ben Widdes hit a three-pointer just before the buzzer to pull Carroll to within 30-25 at the break.
 
Carroll came out hot in the second half and outscored Ripon 8-2 in the opening four-plus minutes to lead 33-32 with 15:38 to play.
 
The Pioneers extended their lead to seven points at the halfway mark of the second half and appeared to have the Red Hawks rattled. But, Ripon rallied and eventually tied the score at 49-49 at the 4:33 mark.
 
The two teams exchanged leads over the next three minutes until a Joe Heesch layup and free throw gave a 54-53 lead at 1:12. Kyle Keranen would go on to ice the game for CU with four free throws in the closing seconds.
 
Keranen led Carroll with 15 points while Bryan Nagy added 12. Heesch chipped in with nine points, 12 rebounds and six assists off the Pioneer bench.
 
The tournament final is set for Saturday at 3 p.m. Carroll will play the winner of tonight's St. Norbert College vs. Lake Forest College semifinal game.