Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Carthage College Athletics

The Official Website of The Carthage College Firebirds
Kostes-Kyle
Adam Radcliffe
74
Carthage CARTH 9-11,2-9 CCIW
88
Winner Elmhurst ELM 15-5,7-4 CCIW
Carthage CARTH
9-11,2-9 CCIW
74
Final
88
Elmhurst ELM
15-5,7-4 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Carthage CARTH 35 39 74
Elmhurst ELM 43 45 88

Game Recap: #8 Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Drops CCIW Contest at Elmhurst

ELMHURST, Ill. — Playing their second consecutive Monday night game, the Carthage College men's basketball team fell to Elmhurst 88-74 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) action at R.A. Faganel Hall.

Elmhurst (15-5, 7-4 CCIW), ranked No. 21 in this week's D3Hoops.com Top 25 poll, started with an 11-4 lead off two free throws. Carthage (9-11, 2-9 CCIW) took a two-point lead with back-to-back three-pointers from AJ Johnson and a three-point bucket from Anthony Bernero. Following two free throws for the home team, the Firebirds went ahead 26-20 with two consecutive long-range buckets from Kyle Kostes and Garrett Horner. Later in the half, a dunk from Crishawn Cook put the visitors ahead 32-26, but Elmhurst retaliated, closing out the half with a 17-3 run flipping the score to 43-35. 

Carthage battled back, getting within one with a driving layup and free throw from Kostes with 12:01 left in the second half. On the following possession, Cook hit a three making the score 54-52, however, Elmhurst used a quick 6-0 run taking back control of the game. The Firebirds tied it at 59 with a layup from Cook and took a one-point lead the next possession with a deep three from Horner. With the score locked at 64, another 11-2 run for the home team made it 74-66 as Elmhurst went on to win 88-74. 

Next, the Firebirds stay on the road facing No. 10 Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday, February 5 at 7 p.m. 


Head Coach Steve Djurickovic

"Battled tough against a very good and experienced Elmhurst team. I thought we played terrifically and executed most of what we planned to do. In the last five minutes, we lost Jake Rhode too many times. We guarded him well for 30 plus minutes, but he hit back-to-back threes and had a couple of assists that stretched their lead.

Offensively we did some nice things. I thought we attacked the basket more aggressively in the second half, which allowed us to get to the foul line. Still, too many turnovers which we will need to clean up in the next few days.

Freshmen Kyle Kostes and AJ Johnson are getting better every single game. I thought both of them handled their aggressive defense well and allowed us to get some good looks on the offensive end."


Quick Facts

  • The freshman pair of Kyle Kostes and AJ Johnson registered 19 and 15 points, respectively. Kostes nearly had his first double-double of the season finishing with eight rebounds. 
  • Crishawn Cook added 14 points, while Nemi Ostojic and Fillip Bulatovic grabbed six rebounds apiece. 
  • Bulatovic, who leads the CCIW in assists per game, had six in today's contest. 


You can keep up with Carthage Athletics by following us on Facebook at facebook.com/carthageathletics, Twitter by following @CarthageSports, and on Instagram by following @CarthageAthletics. 
 
Print Friendly Version