NAPERVILLE, Ill. — The Carthage College men's basketball team fell in close competition to No. 11 North Central (Ill.) 70-69 in the Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) action Wednesday at Gregory Arena. 

The Cardinals (20-4, 13-2 CCIW) began with a 13-9 advantage in the first half until the Red Men (15-9, 7-8 CCIW) battled back to tie it at 16. Carthage went on to take the lead with a three pointer from Crishawn Cook at the 9:07 mark. Seven lead changes and two ties happened over the next eight minutes of play until a layup from Fillip Bulatovic put the Red Men up 35-32 heading into the intermission break. 

Carthage broke out to a 43-37 margin to begin the second half sparked by a jumper from Kienan Baltimore and a layup from Brad Perry. A pair of free throws and a three pointer from Cook extended the advantage to eight at 50-42. Cook later sank a jumper to the visitors up by 10 however, North Central (Ill.) retaliated narrowing the gap to 55-52 with a 8-0 run. The Red Men used a 7-2 run of their own to go up 62-54 with 4:14 left in regulation. With 1:43 left, Bulatovic sank a layup to give the Red Men a 66-60 lead. Following two free throws from Baltimore, the Cardinals hit a three pointer to shrink the deficit to three at 68-65. While Cook would sink one free throw with 11 seconds left, North Central (Ill.) would get to the line twice to take the victory 70-69. 

The Red Men return home for Senior Day on Saturday, February 22 tip-off is set for 7 p.m. 

Head Coach Bosko Djurickovic

"Terribly disappointing finish to a game we thought we deserved to win. Losing is never easy, especially when it happens this way. Senior night on Saturday, we need to bounce back before the conference tournament next week."

Quick Facts

• Kienan Baltimore led all scores finishing with 20 points. 
• Crishawn Cook almost finished with a triple-double on the day collecting 14 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. 
• Fillip Bulatovic came off the bench to add 15 points and five rebounds to the Red Men effort. 

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