Box Score

The Carthage College men's basketball team (24-5, 12-2, 1st place College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 14th in the March 2 “D3hoops.com” poll, advanced to the “sweet 16” of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship on Saturday, March 6 with a 76-58 win over No. 24 Anderson University (23-6) at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. Carthage will meet CCIW-opponent Illinois Wesleyan University (22-7) on Friday, March 12 in a sectional semifinal game at a site to be named by the NCAA on Monday, March 8. This will be the fourth meeting this year between the Red Men and the Titans. Illinois Wesleyan advanced to the sectional championship by knocking off No. 1 and defending-national-champion Washington University (Mo., 24-3), 75-70, on Saturday at the Washington Fieldhouse in St. Louis, Mo.

Carthage won its first-round NCAA game on Friday, March 5 with an 84-70 decision over Aurora University (18-11), with Anderson University (23-5) upsetting No. 6 the University of St. Thomas (23-4), 73-71.

In the second-round win over Anderson, the game started out at a sluggish pace, with Anderson leading, 15-14, at 7:55. The Red Men built a 12-point lead by halftime, 35-23. A 14-8 run to start the second half put Carthage up by 18 points, 49-31, at 13:54. The Ravens launched a brilliant comeback, using a 21-8 run to close to within four points, 56-52, at 7:22. Carthage responded with a 14-4 run of its own to take control of the game with a 16-point edge, 70-54, at 2:23. The Red Men went on to win by 18 points, 76-58.

Carthage shot 59 percent (26-44), including a blistering 70 percent in the second half (14-20) while Anderson shot just 38 percent for the game (21-55). Carthage out-rebounded the Ravens, 31-28. Three Red Men scored in double figures. Steve Djurickovic (Jr., Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kenosha-Bradford) scored a game-high 30 points on 10-of-14 field goals, including one-of-three three-pointers, along with nine-of-10 free throws, six rebounds and 10 assists, his second-straight game with 10 assists. Tyler Pierce (Fr., Westmont, Ill.) scored 15 points with four rebounds, while Malcom Kelly came off the bench to score 12 points on four-of-six shooting, all from three-point range. Andrew Bowman topped Anderson with 13 points and six rebounds. 

“It was a heck of a basketball game, “said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic. “It was a very, very physical game with a lot of ups and downs. That's always the case when you get to tournament play. I think that sometimes things like the way Cody Hilton defended Ty Riddle go unnoticed. Cody Hilton has been an exceptional defender for us for a couple of years. This year, he knows in advance that he gets the toughest perimeter guy on the other team every night, whether he's a point guard or a 6'7” wing man and he's done a really good job for us. We played really well late and were lucky enough that they missed some shots. You have to give Anderson credit. I love their balance. Nice inside game, some athletic big guys and their perimeter guys are tough. We finished with an 18-point difference, but this was a 4-point game in my mind's eye with four or five minutes to go. We made some shots at the end that were very special.

“We could use a little bit better ball handling at times,” continued Djurickovic, “but, we're growing. We think we're going to be very good in a league of good. We're very excited about the future with these kids. The Sweet 16 is obviously a goal when you get to this point. You're never guaranteed another game when you get into tournament play. Watching Anderson play was enough to cost me some sleep last night. They played as good as you can play against a nightmare of a team (St. Thomas). It was one game at a time and now we get to go visit our friends for a fourth time this year--Illinois Wesleyan.”