Box Score

The Carthage College men's basketball team (3-1, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), tied for 55th place in the “D3hoops.com” pre-season poll, opened play in the Carroll University “Wisconsin Classic” on Saturday, Nov. 28 with an 85-60 win over Concordia University (Wis., 3-2) at Van Male Arena in Waukesha, Wis. The win was the 1,000th for Carthage since the program began under coach J. Arthur Baird in 1907. No. 57 Carroll (Wis., 2-1) blasted Wisconsin Lutheran College (0-3), 100-83, in Saturday's second game. On Sunday, Nov. 29, the Red Men play Wisconsin Lutheran (0-3), also at 2 p.m., with Carroll (Wis., 2-1) facing Concordia (Wis., 3-2) at 6 p.m.

Carthage took charge early, using a 14-0 run midway through the first period to take a 19-point lead, 25-6. The Red Men held the Falcons scoreless from the 15:21 mark, when the score stood at 11-6, until 9:01. Concordia (Wis.) pulled to within 10 points, 33-23, at 5:07, but Carthage scored the final seven points of the period to take a 17-point lead the break, 40-23. The lead went to 22 points, 45-23, in the early minutes of the second half and to 32 points, 60-28, at 14:18, as the Red Men opened the second period with a 20-5 run. Carthage went on to win by 25 points, 85-60.

Carthage shot 48 percent (29-60), while Concordia (Wis.) shot just 39 percent (22-56). The Red Men connected on seven-of-19 from three-point range, while the Falcons connected on nine-of-27 from beyond the arc. Carthage out-rebounded Concordia (Wis.), 42-34, and the Falcons turned the ball over 22 times to just 14 for Carthage. Four Red Men scored in double figures. Max Cary had 19 points on seven-of-13 field goals, including two-of-three three-pointers. Steve Djurickovic also had 19 points on five-of-10 from the floor, along with eight-of-10 free throws, five rebounds and four assists. Raul Guzman had 16 points and six rebounds, while Tyler Pierce scored 14 points with 10 rebounds. Kyle Barth topped Concordia (Wis.) with 14 points and six boards. 

“It was a decent effort on our part," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic. "We played well enough to win comfortably against a pretty good basketball team. This was decided in the first 10 or 11 minutes, and our defense was really outstanding. Against perimeter-oriented teams, we're a very good defensive basketball team. We need to play a more-consistent game. We had some great moments and some not-so-great moments. I wasn't happy with our overall execution over 40 minutes.”