ELMHURST, Ill. — In a thrilling road contest, the Carthage College men's basketball team defeated No. 8 Elmhurst 81-77 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) competition Wednesday at R.A. Faganel Hall.
It was a back-and-forth effort to start with the Blue Jays (18-3, 9-3 CCIW) holding a 15-11 lead over the Red Men (13-7, 5-6 CCIW). At the 10:39 mark, a layup from Crishawn Cook gave Carthage a 20-18 margin. Elmhurst later tied the game at 25 until a 10-5 run for the Red Men pushed the advantage back to five with 4:44 remaining in the half. The Blue Jays continued to apply pressure shrinking the deficit to two with a layup, however, a pair of free throws just before the end of the half saw Carthage go into the locker rooms up 43-38.
The Red Men started the half with a layup from TJ Best extending the lead to 47-40 until the Elmhurst rallied to tie the game at 56. A quick 6-0 run for Carthage switched it to 62-56 sparked by a layup and bucket from Fillip Bulatovic. The Blue Jays retaliated once more to take a one point lead at the six minute mark. The Red Men regained control of the game and grew the lead to five over the closing minutes until a layup for Elmhurst narrowed the gap to three. The Blue Jays later got within one with 49 seconds left with a three pointer however, three clutch free throws gave Carthage the 81-77 victory.
The Red Men stay on the road facing Millikin on Saturday, February 8 in Decatur, Ill. starting at 7 p.m.
"Played a complete 40 minute game against a top 10 team in the country. We have played in a lot of close games during the conference season and it was nice to finish one up the right way. Proud of our effort, this was a great team win!"
