Box Score The Carthage College men's basketball team (4-5, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) gave NAIA-power Northwood University (Fla., 11-1) all it could handle on Monday, Dec. 17 but came up on the short end of a 98-90 overtime game at the Northwood (Fla.) “English Family Classic” at the Countess de Hoernle Student Life Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.  The Seahawks, ranked fifth in the Dec. 12 NAIA Division II poll, are coached by former Villanova University coach Rollie Massimino.
 
In Monday's first game, St. Thomas University (10-2 and ranked 18th in the NAIA poll) trounced Truett-McConnell College (2-10), 96-53.  On Tuesday, Dec. 18, the Red Men play on St. Thomas (Fla.) at 5 p.m., EST and Northwood (Fla.) plays Truett-McDonnell (2-10) at 7 p.m., EST.
 
Northwood took a five-point lead, 18-13, at 13:25 first half.  Carthage went up, 25-24, at 8:21, and the Red Men led by as much as five in the first half, 31-26, at 5:52.  The two teams traded the lead for the rest of the period, with the Seahawks leading by a point at the break, 40-39. 
 
Northwood took a four-point lead as the second half got underway, 45-41, but Carthage came back to take a 49-45 edge at 16:13.  The Seahawks went back up, 49-47, at 15:05.  Northwood hung onto narrow lead for the next 10 minutes, before Mitch Thompson's jumper at 6:04 put the Red Men up by one , 69-68.  The game was tied at 71-71 and 73-73, the latter at 3:45.
 
Northwood's Ra'Shad James was called for a technical foul at 3:25.  Donte Logan made one-of-two free throws to give the Red Men a 74-73 lead.  Reese Herth scored at 2:26, was fouled by James and completed the three-point play for a 79-75 lead.  A three-point by Tyrone Davis at 1:44 cut the lead to a point, 79-78.  Carthage's Luke Johnson turned the ball over on the Red Men's next possession.  A three-pointer by Thierno Agne at 1:17a made it 81-79 in Northwood's favor, but Johnson scored at 1:06 to tie the game, 81-81.  Carthage called a time out with 19 seconds left, but Tyler Pierce missed what would have been a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.
 
A three-point play by Ra'Shad James at 4:57 in overtime put the Seahawks up by three, 84-81.  Luke Johnson answered with a trey at 4:27 to tie the game at 84-84.  Donte Logan put Carthage up, 86-84, at 4:14 for the Red Men's last lead.  Northwood knotted things up, 86-86, at 4:02.  James scored at 3:42 to out the Seahawks up, 88-86, and Patrick Horstmann's three-pointer at 3:01 made it 91-86.  Northwood extended its lead to seven, 93-86, at 2:14 and went on to win by eight points, 98-90.
 
Northwood shot 52 percent (36-69), including nine-of-26 three-pointers, while Carthage shot 45 percent (33-74), including nine-of-23 from three-point range.  The Red Men had a narrow, 42-40 rebounding advantage.  Ra'Shad James, with 15 first-half points, wound up with career-high 39 points on 16-of-21 shooting, along with six rebounds.  Tyrone Davis had 14 points.  Masse Doumbe, Northwoods' second-leading scorer at 19.3 points per game and leading rebounder at 9.8 per game, did not play.
 
Four Carthage players scored in double figures.  Tyler Pierce (Sr., Westmont, Ill.) led the way with 23 points on eight-of-12 field goals and five-of-five free throws, along with six boards.  Mitch Thompson (Sr., Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) scored 21 points on nine-of-18 shooting, along with seven rebounds.  Luke Johnson (So., Naperville, Ill./West Chicago-Wheaton Academy) had 14 points, and Donte Logan (So., Evanston, Ill./Skokie-Niles West) was a rebound short of a “triple-double” with 13 points, nine rebounds and 13 assists.  His 13 assists tied a Carthage game record set by Steve Djurickovic in 2010. 
 
“Ra'Shad James is a unique player at our level,” said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic.  “He's so ridiculously strong, and he gets to the rim very well.  If you double him, you let them shoot threes, which they'd like to do.  We had a good game plan, and we executed it well, but we need to find a way to win games like this.  We're a good basketball team, but nine games into the season, the record doesn't show that.  Tyler Pierce's three-pointer at the buzzer in regulation—that shot would go in three out of four times.  It is what it is, and they did a good job of getting to the free-throw line in overtime.  Tomorrow night will be brutal game to get ready for.  St. Thomas tries to confuse you, defensively, and they try to push the ball up the court.  Because of the intensity of this game, and the length of it, it's going to make the turnaround a little tough.”