Box Score It was a battle all the way, but the Carthage College men's basketball team (9-10, 3-5 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) fell to CCIW-opponent North Central College (13-6, 7-1 CCIW), 77-74 in overtime, on Saturday night, Jan. 28 at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.
Carthage jumped out to a 15-6 lead at 12:57 first half. Nine unanswered points by the Cardinals knotted he game, 15-15, at 10:45. Following a 17-17 tie at 8:27, North Central took a 20-17 lead at 7:49. The Cardinals led by as much as seven, 27-20, at 4:03 and led by five at the break, 31-26. North Central took a nine-point lead, 35-26, at 19:21 second period. Carthage hung around and got the lead down to a point, 39-38, at 15:03. The Cardinals went back up by 10 points, 51-41, at 11:05, but the Red Men used a 14-4 run to take a one-point lead, 55-54, at 5:56. With Carthage leading, 65-63, the Red Men were charged with a turnover on an inbound play with 24 seconds to go. The Cardinals' Derek Raridon followed with a jumper at the 10-second mark to knot the game at 65-65 in regulation.
In overtime, the game was tied, 71-71, with 1:45 to go when Aaron Tiknis hit a pair of free throws to give North Central a 73-71 lead at 1:36. C.J. Goldthree followed with two more free throws at 1:06 to make it a four-point game, 75-71.
Donte Logan's three-pointer with 45 seconds to play cut the lead to 75-74. The Cardinals' Kevin Gillespie connected on two free throws with 10 second to play, and North Central led by three, 77-74.
Malcom Kelly missed a long three-point attempt with six seconds remaining in the game. Gillespie rebounded, and the Cardinals hung on for the 77-74 win in overtime.
North Central shot 55 percent (26-47), including four-of-nine from three-point range, while Carthage shot 47 percent (27-57), including 10-of-28 three-pointers. The Cardinals converted 21-of-27 free throws, while the Red Men made 10-of-18. North Central had a 32-28 rebounding advantage. Landon Gamble led the Cardinals with 21 points on seven-of-11 field goals, along with seven-of-11 free throws and a team-high eight rebounds. C.J. Goldthree came off the bench to score 17 points on seven-of-13 shooting, along with five boards, and Derek Raridon added 14 points on five-of-seven field goals, along with four-of-four from the free-throw line.
Carthage's
Malcom Kelly (Jr., Kenosha, Wis./Reuther) scored a career-high 32 points on 11-of-19 field goals, including five-of-12 three-pointers, along with five-of-seven from the free-throw line and a team-high eight rebounds.
Luke Johnson (Fr., Naperville, Ill./West Chicago-Wheaton Academy) was the only other Red Men player in double figures with 11 points.
“It was a great effort on North Central's part,” said Carthage coach
Bosko Djurickovic. “They put the ball in the places they needed to be successful, and their people made plays when the game was on the line. Derek Raridon made every big shot there was to be made, and so did Landon Gamble. We were one play short, and in retrospect, they way we ran the out-of-bounds play at the end of regulation might not have been the right call on my part. We turn the ball over way more than we should, and we get those from a number of different people. It's frustrating, but North Central might be the best team in the league. We just couldn't close the deal. We don't have consistent scoring from any of our secondary players after
Malcom Kelly. Hopefully, we can bounce back against North Park on Tuesday.”
Carthage travels to Chicago on Tuesday, Jan. 31 to take on conference-opponent North Park University (5-14, 1-7 CCIW) in a 7:30 p.m. game at the North Park Gym.
