NAPERVILLE, Ill. — The Carthage College men's basketball team won over North Central (Ill.) 71-68 in thrilling fashion on Saturday afternoon in the Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) action at Gregory Arena.

Carthage (4-5, 4-5 CCIW) started the game going up 13-8 with a three-point bucket from Garrett Horner. The Firebirds put together a 15-7 run to go up 27-15 over North Central (Ill.) (5-4, 5-4 CCIW). The Cardinals got within six with a pair of free throws until a three-pointer from TJ Best made the score 32-23 with 3:42 remaining in the first half. Following two free throws, the Firebirds headed into the intermission break up 35-30. 

North Central (Ill.) responded in the second, narrowing the gap to 40-39 however, another quick 7-2 run for Carthage extended the lead to five with under 16 minutes left in regulation. The Cardinals took control of the game with a layup and went up by four with 12:58 left. Five lead changes happened over the next seven minutes until back-to-back buckets from Sean Johnson and Josh Washburn put the Firebirds up 66-61. North Central (Ill.) continued to apply pressure getting within one however, two clutch free throws from Washburn sealed the victory for Carthage 71-68. 

The Firebirds stay on the road playing Elmhurst on Thursday, February 25 at 7 p.m. 

Head Coach Steve Djurickovic

"Gutsy team win. I'm so proud of this group and the way they handled themselves these last few days. Thursday's game we got outworked and that was not the case tonight! Our practice yesterday set the tone for how we played today. We emphasized keeping North Central out of the paint and kept them to eight points there. 

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