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After winning a pair of games at the Dec. 20-21 Puerto Rico Division III Classic, the Carthage College men's basketball team (6-4, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) faces a major test this week with a road game at No. 7 Benedictine University (Ill.. 10-0).  The Red Men take on the Eagles in a 7 p.m. contest on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at the Dan & Ada Rice Center in Lisle, Ill. 
 
"Benedictine has had a terrific 10-game start to their season," says Carthage head coach Bosko Djurickovic.  "This might be the best team they've ever had.  They're very experienced, very large, and It's going to be a heck of a challenge."  The Eagles collected their fourth win over a CCIW-opponent this season on Dec. 22 with a 75-73 decision over North Central College in Naperville, Ill.
 
Keith Bunkenburg (320-215, 21 years thru Dec. 29) coaches the Eagles, who went 18-9 last year (15-5, 1st tie Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference).  Carthage leads the series, which dates to a Jan. 3, 1974 game at the Carthage Physical Education Center, 9-3.  The two teams last met on Dec. 30, 2012, with the Red Men winning a 79-60 contest at Tarble Arena.
 
All five Benedictine starters are averaging 10 or more points per game, with guard Michael Blaszczyk (Jr., Naperville, Ill./Central) leading the way with a 15.0 mark and 4.7 rebounds per game.  Point guard Tahron Harvey (Jr., Country Club Hills, Ill./Lombard-Glenbard East) is averaging 14.1 points and 5.2 assists with a .505 field-goal percentage.  Former Red Men forward Luke Johnson (Sr., Naperville, Ill./West Chicago-Wheaton Academy) has a 12.2 scoring mark with a league-leading 10.5 rebounding average.  Johnson made 22 starts Carthage's 2011-12 team and averaged 9.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots.  He played for Benedictine (Ill.) in 2012-13 and for St. Leo College in 2014-15 before returning to the Eagles late last season.
 
Guard John Dodson (Sr., Gary, Ind./Hammond-Bishop Noll) averages 11.1 points per game and forward Adam Reynolds (Jr., Shorewood, Ill./Minooka) 11.0 points and 4.6 rebounds.  If that's not enough firepower, forward Tim Reamer (Sr., Chicago, Ill./Taft) comes off the bench to average 8.9 points and 5.6 rebounds, while playing 16.8 minutes per game.  The Eagles, ranked seventh in the current "D3hoops.com" poll, are out-scoring their opponents by an 84.0 to 69.9 mark.
 
Carthage came back from a 20-point second-half deficit to win a thrilling, 76-73 game, in overtime, over North Central University (Minn., 4-6), on Monday, Dec. 21 at the Puerto Rico Division III Classic.  The Red Men opened tournament play on Sunday, Dec. 20 with a 61-32 win over York College (N.Y.. 2-9), with both games being played at the Rubén Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Transfer Tony Pierce Jr. (Sr., Evanston, Ill./Skokie-Niles West), in just his second game with the Red Men, scored 21 points against North Central on six-of-13 from the floor, including three-of-six from three-point range, along with six-of-eight free throws and seven rebounds. 

Head coach Bosko Djurickovic is in his 20th season at Carthage in 2015-16 and his 30th overall.  His 30-year record stands at 509-267 (313-188 in 20 years at Carthage thru Dec. 29, 196-79 in 10 years at North Park), an overall winning percentage of .656.  Jordan Kedrowski (Fr., Bolingbrook Ill./Downers Grove-North) is averaging 16.1 points per game and 3.4 rebounds with a .304 three-point field goal percentage, while Mike Stevenson (Jr., Burlington, Wis./Wilmot-Union) averages 13.3 points and 5.4 rebounds.
 
Following the Benedictine game, Carthage launches its conference schedule by playing host to Millikin University (6-5, 0-0 CCIW) on Saturday, Jan. 2 in a 4 p.m. game at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.