The Ridgewater men's basketball team delivered an impressive home weekend, earning back-to-back victories over Minnesota North College–Mesabi Range and Minnesota North College–Vermillion.
Ridgewater opened the weekend Friday night with a hard-fought 97–94 win over Mesabi Range in a tightly contested battle. The Warriors controlled the first half, building a 48–35 lead at the break, but had to withstand a strong second-half push from the Norse, who outscored Ridgewater 59–49 after halftime.
DeAndre Holloway powered the Warriors with a dominant performance, finishing with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Brenton McKinney added 22 points on an efficient 7-of-14 shooting night, while Tyrese Mayo orchestrated the offense with a team-high six assists.
Saturday night saw a much different script as the Warriors overwhelmed Minnesota North–Vermillion in a 120–70 victory. Ridgewater came out firing, pouring in 76 first-half points and never looking back. The Warriors capped the night by outscoring the Ironhawks 44–38 in the second half to complete the blowout.
Holloway once again led the way with a monster stat line of 31 points, 12 rebounds, and six blocks. Mayo chipped in 21 points and four assists, while John Hooker provided a spark off the bench, scoring 19 points in just 17 minutes of action.
With the two wins, Ridgewater improves to 9–2 on the season. The Warriors have two remaining non-conference games before opening MCAC conference play and will return to action January 2nd and 3rd at the CLC Classic.