Following an 11-day layoff, the Carthage College men's basketball team (4-6, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) returned to action on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 31 with a 72-63 loss to Wisconsin-Oshkosh (6-5) at the Kolf Sports Center in Oshkosh, Wis.
 
Carthage led by as much as seven points in the early going, but a 22-8 Wisconsin-Oshkosh run put the Titans up by seven, 25-18, at 6:15.  A three-pointer by the Red Men's Mike Stevenson as the first half ended sent both teams in their locker rooms tied at 34 each.  UW-Oshkosh went back up by five, 54-49, at 10:32 second half.  Five unanswered points gave Carthage its last lead at 56-54 at 8:14.  The Titans broke a 56-56 tie at 7:12 on a layup by Alex Olson to take a 58-56 lead that they would not relinquish.  The Red Men got it back to one point on two occasions, the last time at 62-61 at 3:37.  Wisconsin-Oshkosh out-scored Carthage 10-2 over the final minutes to win by nine points, 72-63.
 
The Titans shot 48 percent (24-50), including seven-of-13 from three-point range, while the Red Men shot 49 percent (21-43), including seven-of-20 three-pointers.  UW-Oshkosh got to the free-throw line 26 times and made 17, while Carthage converted 14-of-23.  The Red Men had a narrow, 30-29 rebounding edge but turned the ball over 11 times to just six turnovers for the Titans.
 
The Titans' Alex Olson led all scorers with 24 points on seven-of-15 shooting, including two-of-four three-pointers, along with eight-of-11 free throws.  Kyle Bolger scored 15 points on seven-of-nine field goals, and Sean Dwyer added 10 points with five rebounds.  Carthage's Donte Logan (Sr., Evanston, Ill./Skokie-Niles West) had 13 points on four-of-six field goals, including two-of-three three-pointers, along with three-of-four free throws and seven assists.  Mike Stevenson (So., Burlington, Wis./Wilmot-Union) added 12 points on four-of-eight shooting, including three-of-six from three-point range, along with four rebounds.
 
"This was very disappointing," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic.  "I thought we had put ourselves into a position to win the game, but we didn't play very well down the stretch.  A lot of the things we did well for the first 30 minutes, we didn't do over the last 10 minutes.  Give UW-Oshkosh credit.  They were packing things in the lane, and we had trouble getting the ball to the right people.  When you only attempt 43 shots in a game like this, it puts a premium on every possession.  Donte Logan played great, and he's put together back-to-back-to-back solid games.  He's always been kind of a safe point guard, but now he's kept his safe play and expanded his ability to score while also upping his assists.  There's no rest for the weary, with No. 2 Augustana coming in on Saturday.  It's going to be a difficult game, especially on the boards.  If we continue to move forward, I think we'll give it a really good effort."
 
Carthage opens its CCIW-schedule on Saturday, Jan. 3 by playing host to No. 2 Augustana College (Ill., 10-1, 0-0 CCIW) in a 4 p.m. contest at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.