The Carthage College men's basketball team (17-5, 9-2 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 23rd in the Feb. 9 “D3hoops.com” poll and second in the Feb. 10 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional poll, defeated CCIW-opponent Elmhurst College (6-16, 1-10 CCIW), 82-68, on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at R.A. Faganel Hall in Elmhurst, Ill. The win, combined with Illinois Wesleyan University's 75-66 win over Millikin University, left the Red Men in a tie for first place with Illinois Wesleyan (18-4, 9-2 CCIW).

Carthage jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Elmhurst pulled to within three, 19-16, at 12:00 and took a lead, 25-23, at 7:36 on a three-pointer by Aaron Schroeder. The game went back-and-forth for the rest of the half, and the score was tied, 43-43, at halftime. The Red Men opened the second half with a 16-6 run to take a 10-point lead, 59-49 at 13:50 on a three-pointer by Cody Hilton. Carthage opened up a 19-point margin, 70-51, at 9:51 on another trey by Hilton, and led by as much as 20 points, 82-62, at 1:54. The Red Men went on to win by 14, 82-68.

Carthage shot 59 percent (30-51), while Elmhurst shot 46 percent (24-52). The Bluejays out-rebounded the Red Men, 30-23, but turned the ball over 10 times to just six for Carthage. Six Carthage players scored in double figures, a high for the Red Men this season. Steve Djurickovic (Jr., Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kenosha-Bradford) led the way with 15 points on three-of-eight from the floor and a perfect eight-of-eight free throws, along with four rebounds and four assists. Raul Guzman (Fr., Lyons, Ill./Berwyn-Morton West) scored 14 points on five-of-nine field goals, including four-of-seven from behind the arc. Cody Hilton (Sr., Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East) had 13 points, Max Cary (So., Geneva, Ill.) 11 points, while Malcom Kelly (Fr., Kenosha, Wis./Reuther) and Tyler Pierce (Fr., Westmont, Ill.) added 10 points each. 

“I told our guys at halftime that it was about time that we became accountable for our play,” said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic.  “Our first half was just not acceptable for Carthage basketball.  We got beat on every possession and beat to every loose ball.  Elmhurst played better tonight, but we have better players.  We must do a better job.  Cody Hilton did an outstanding job on the defensive end in the second half, and Raul Guzman played a very complete game.  Overall, our effort was better in the second half, but our rebounding is still not as good as it needs to be.”

On Saturday, Feb. 13, the Red Men play host to conference-opponent North Central College (11-11, 4-7 CCIW) in a 7:30 p.m. contest at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.