BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Carthage College Red Men saw a double-digit second half lead evaporate in their College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opener on Saturday night in Bloomington, Illinois, falling to #10 Illinois Wesleyan University, 75-67, in overtime.
The loss drops the Red Men to 3-4 on the season and to 0-1 in the CCIW, while the Titans stay undefeated at 7-0 and start-off at 1-0 in the league.
Kienan Baltimore led three Red Men in double-figures with a game-high 23 points on 8-22 shooting. Also leading Carthage was
Jordon Kedrowski with 22 points on 9-15 from the field and
Sean Johnson, who went 4-4 from the field and 1-1 from three for 12 points. Johnson added four blocks and had 11 boards to tie for a team-high with
Mike Canady.
The Red Men opened strong and built an early ten-point lead in the first half, 14-4, courtesy of good defense and six points from
Kienan Baltimore in the early going. However, a 9:30 drought by the Red Men allowed the Titans to go on a 16-0 run to take a 20-14 lead before Baltimore ended the IWU run with a three to make it a three-point deficit with 5:30 remaining, 20-17. With the game tied at 25-25 late in the half,
Preston Laketa drilled a three that gave the Red Men a 28-25 lead before going into the half up two 28-26.
The Red Men came out in the second half and increased their lead, eventually getting it to their biggest of the game at 13 at 43-30 with 13:03 remaining in regulation. Following a three-pointer by
Sean Johnson that put the Red Men up, 48-36, the Red Men would once again become plagued on both ends of the court, allowing the Titans back into the game with a 14-0 run that gave them a two-point lead with 6:52 remaining, 50-48. The Titans pushed their lead to as many as seven down the stretch, but a pair of clutch threes by Baltimore and a third by
Jordon Kedrowski sent the game to overtime, tied at 62-62.
Overtime belonged to the Titans as the Red Men were outscored 13-5 in the extra frame, as cold shooting held Carthage to 2-7 from the field in the final five minutes, while Wesleyan connected on 4-6 attempts, including 2-3 from three.
The Red Men will return to Tarble Arena for their next game, as Carthage will host North Park University on Wednesday, December 5 at 7:00 p.m.
