WATERTOWN, Wis.  — In the last non-conference game of the regular season, the Carthage College men's basketball team defeated Maranatha Baptist on Tuesday night.  

• Final score: Carthage 87 - Maranatha 62
• Location: Watertown, Wisconsin - Mbu Gymnasium
• Records: Carthage 14-6, Marantha 3-16

 

• Carthage started with a nine-point lead off a three-point field goal from AJ Johnson. 
• After the Sabercats got it to six, a layup from Anthony Bernero moved the score to 23-15. 
• Later, a pair of free throws from Antuan Nesbitt with 2:25 left in the half made it 33-26 as Carthage held a seven-point margin heading to the intermission break. 
• The Firebirds started the second half with a 17-9 run highlighted by four straight points from Nesbitt. 
• A dunk from Nesbitt, a layup from Johnson, and a layup from Bernero extended the lead to 22 with 11:35 remaining. 
• Tanner Lamb dialed in a long-range bucket for a 73-48 score. 
• Carthage cruised to the 87-62 victory with a final three-pointer from Mac Parmelee. 

• AJ Johnson led the Firebirds with a new career-best 30 points and five steals, a career-best. Johnson has had ten or more points in 13 of Carthage's 20 games this season. 
• Four Firebirds had 10 or more points: Antuan Nesbitt (12), Fillip Bulatovic (11), Julian Campbell (11), and Anthony Bernero (11). 
• Bulatovic hauled down nine rebounds, while Campbell and Bernero had seven. 
• Nesbitt dished out five assists, followed by Colton Sigel and Johnson with three.

 

"Thankful to Coach Fuller and Maranatha for helping us set this game up. We, unfortunately, lost a game late in the summer due to a team over scheduling, and we were scrambling for one last non-conference game. I really appreciate them helping us out on short notice. 

I was disappointed with our effort level in the first half. We came out flat and missed a lot of open looks against their zone. In the second half, we played with much more energy, got some easy looks in transition, and had the opportunity to play a lot of different guys. 

AJ Johnson was terrific! He really helped us stabilize in the first half by getting some easy looks around the basket. 

All CCIW the rest of the way! Augustana has been playing very well the last few weeks, so we need a good few days of practice to prepare!" 



 

• Carthage returns to conference play on Saturday, February 4, taking on Augustana (Ill.) on the road. Tip-off is set for 7:15 p.m.