Box Score

The Carthage College men's basketball team (7-2, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 23rd in the Dec. 15 “D3hoops.com” poll, nipped Calumet College of St. Joseph (6-11), 90-88, on Saturday, Dec. 19 in a thriller at the Recreation Athletic Facility in Whiting, Ind.

 

Calumet never trailed in the first half, and Carthage fell behind by eight, 25-17, at 10:41.  The Red Men tied the contest on three occasions, the first at 36-36 at 3:26 and the last at 40-40 at 1:37.  The Crimson Wave led by three at the break, 43-40.  Max Cary connected on a three-pointer on the Red Men's first possession of the second half for the game's fourth tie, 43-43.  Carthage took its first lead of the game, 45-43, at 19:17 on a layup by Tyler Pierce.  Pierce scored on four layups in the first three minutes of the second half.  The Red Men opened up a five-point lead, 66-61, at 11:11 on another layup by Pierce.  Steve Djurickovic left the game with just over nine minutes remaining after collecting his fourth personal foul but returned with six minutes to go.  The Crimson Wave went up by five, 76-71, at 6:31, but the Red Men scored six unanswered points to re-gain the lead, 77-76, at 4:31. 

 

Calumet went up, 78-77, at 3:43, before Carthage went back up by two, 80-78, on a three-point play by Pierce at 3:12.  Djurickovic connected on a pair of free throws with 27 seconds to go to open up a three-point lead, 86-83.  Two free throws by Calumet's Keith Dean with 17.6 seconds cut the lead to 86-85, but Malcom Kelly answered with two free throws at 16.7 seconds to restore the Red Men's three-point lead, 88-85.  The Crimson Waves' Antonio Hurt nailed a three-pointer to tie the game, 88-88, with 7.6 seconds to go.  Malcom Kelly collected the ball, got it upcourt to Djurickovic, who found Max Cary all alone in the lane for the game-winning layup at the buzzer.

 

Carthage shot 47 percent (34-72), while Calumet shot 45 percent (31-69).  The Crimson Wave out-rebounded the Red Men, 42-36.  Five Carthage players scored in double figures.  Steve Djurickovic (Jr., Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kenosha-Bradford) scored 23 points on five-of-15 field goals, but 12-of-13 free throws, along with four rebounds and eight assists.  Tyler Pierce (Fr., Westmont, Ill.) had 22 points on 10-of-14 from the floor, along with seven rebounds.  Max Cary (So., Geneva, Ill.) and Raul Guzman (Fr., Lyons, Ill./Berwyn-Morton West) each had 13 points, with Cary collecting six assists and Guzman seven rebounds.  Mitch Thompson (Fr., Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) chipped in 12 points with eight boards.  Keith Dean scored a game-high 34 points with seven rebounds for Calumet, while Antonio Hurt had 24 points and nine boards.

“Calumet played great,” said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic, “and I loved the way they approach the game. They attacked us in ways that teams in our own league are not capable of. Keith Dean is as good a player as we'll see all year. In the long run, good teams have to find a way to win games like this. I don't think we would have won this game last year. We persevered and got the job done tonight, but we need to play better. You can't turn it on and off, and sometimes we play that way. Tonight's game lacked the energy of a Hope College game, but you have to be able to play the game correctly. I give Calumet all the credit in the world, and we're just happy to come out two points ahead. Mitch Thompson and Tyler Pierce were dynamite tonight, even though some other guys who have been playing well didn't do so well tonight. I didn't want to call time out on the last play. They weren't going to let Steve Djurickovic shoot, but he found Max Cary open.”

 

Carthage has another two-week schedule break. The Red Men conclude their non-conference schedule by playing in the Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 2-3 “Wilkes-Barre Challenge” at King's College's William S. Scandlon Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. On Saturday, Jan. 2, Carthage plays Wilkes University (5-3) at 6 p.m. (all times EST), with the host-Monarchs (2-7) taking on the John Jay College of Criminal Justice (1-7) at 8 p.m. On Sunday, Jan. 3, John Jay plays Wilkes at 1 p.m., with the Red Men taking on King's at 3 p.m.