Box Score

The Carthage College men's basketball team (1-0, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), tied for 55th place in the “D3hoops.com” pre-season poll, opened its 2009-10 season on Sunday, Nov. 15 with a 76-54 win over Transylvania University (0-1) at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.

 

Carthage jumped out to a 19-2 lead midway through the first period. Freshman Raul Guzman (Lyons, Ill./Berwyn-Morton West) had a pair of three-pointers and layup as part of that run. The lead went to 20 points, 24-4, at 7:49; to 22 points, 30-8, at 4:27; and to 25 points at the break, 40-15. The Red Men upped their lead to 26 points in the second half, 45-19, at 18:55 before the Pioneers made a game of things. Transylvania used a 25-10 run to close to within nine points, 53-44, at 10:45, Carthage came right back with a 16-1 run to go back up by 24, 69-45, at 5:22. The Red Men went on to win by 22 points, 76-54. Three Carthage players scored in double figures. Carthage shot 54 percent (25-46), while Transylvania shot just 29 percent (17-59). Steve Djurickovic (Jr., Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kenosha-Bradford) topped all scorers with 23 points on five-of-nine from the floor and 13-of-14 free throws, along with nine assists. Freshman Tyler Pierce (Westmont, Ill.) had 19 points on eight-of-11 field goals, along with nine rebounds, and Raul Guzman added 16 points on six-of-eight field goals, and he also pulled down nine boards. Barrett Meyer topped the Pioneers with 11 points.

“Our defense was so good in the first half,” said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic, “but we shouldn't forget that Transylvania is a good basketball team. They play with a great amount of veracity, and they're going to go back and win their league. Tyler Pierce and Raul Guzman are not freshmen-like players. They are both very mature for their age. They both had nine rebounds in this game, and if they can do that consistently, we have a chance for a very special season. Transylvania gave us a wake-up call in the second half by trying to take the ball out of Steve Djurickovic's hands and put it into the hands of Raul Guzman or somebody else. I don't know if other teams will try that, but we have to be ready for it. This is a committed group of kids, and they want to get Carthage basketball back to where it was five or six years ago.”

 

For the first time since the 2003-04 season, the Red Men will play host to the Carthage Classic on Nov. 20-21 at Tarble Arena. On Friday, Nov. 20, Aurora University (0-0) plays No. 17 Wisconsin-Platteville (1-0) at 6 p.m., with Carthage taking on No. 13 Wisconsin-Whitewater (0-0) at 8 p.m. On Saturday, Nov. 21, Aurora tangles with Wisconsin-Whitewater at 5 p.m., with the Red Men facing Wisconsin-Platteville at 7 p.m.