ELMHURST, Ill. — To open the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) play, the Carthage College men's basketball team defeated No. 11 Elmhurst Saturday afternoon. 



 

• Final score: Carthage 89 - Elmhurst 85
• Location: Elmhurst, Illinois - R.A. Faganel Hall
• Records: Carthage 5-1 (1-0 CCIW), Elmhurst 5-2 (0-2 CCIW)

 
 
 

• The Firebirds started with a seven-point lead off a free throw from Fillip Bulatovic. 
• Elmhurst, ranked No. 11 in this week's D3hoops.com week one top 25 poll, turned the tables by going up 11 with a three-pointer at the 9:50 mark. 
• Carthage retaliated getting within five with a three-point bucket from Tanner Lamb. 
• The Firebirds got it to a three-point deficit twice in the closing minutes of the first half before a last-second three-pointer saw Elmhurst control a 45-39 score heading to the halftime break. 
• Carthage continued the pressure in the second tying it at 74 off a layup from AJ Johnson. 
• The home team rallied regaining control of the game with a pair of free throws with 2:37 left in regulation. 
• A jumper in the lane from Fillip Bulatovic then a steal and layup from Johnson on the following possession made it 85-82 in favor of the Firebirds. 
• On the next possession, a layup for Elmhurst cut the deficit to one, however, two free throws from Bulatovic pushed the advantage back to three with 29 seconds left. 
• Elmhurst made one of two free throws as two clutch free throws from Colton Sigel sealed the conference victory for Carthage 89-85.

 

• Fillip Bulatovic had 19 points in the contest surpassing the 1,000 career points mark. Bulatovic is the 30th student-athlete in program history to collect the milestone. 
• For the fourth-straight game, AJ Johnson finished with double-digit points having 18 in the game. 
• Antuan Nesbitt added 14 points and a team-best seven assists. 
• Julian Campbell came off the bench to add a new season-best in points with 17. 
• Anthony Bernero grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds, a new career-best. 

 


"Always tough to win road games in the CCIW, especially against teams as good as Elmhurst. In the first half, they were the aggressors and were able to play to their strengths in transition and the offensive boards. In the second half, we couldn't have played better together! We fought for 40 minutes and played unselfish basketball. 

Julian Campbell gets better every day and gave us a big spark in the first half. AJ Johnson, Antuan Nesbitt, and Fillip Bulatovic were terrific on both ends of the floor. Anthony Bernero is the ultimate team player and does all the little things to win. Colton Sigel made two huge free throws late to seal the game. 

Couldn't be prouder of our guys! Need to build off this and continue to improve every day and get ready for an excellent Millikin team next Saturday!"


 

• The men's basketball team stays on the road heading to Millikin on Saturday, December 10 at 4:15 p.m.