Carthage College

Box Score

Carthage CARTH 8-3,2-1 CCIW

Widener Wide 9-1,0-0 MAC Commonwealth

Carthage CARTH

8-3,2-1 CCIW

Final

Dec. 20, 2023

Widener Wide

9-1,0-0 MAC Commonwealth

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Carthage CARTH	25	53	78
Widener Wide	44	37	81

Game Recap: #22 Men's Basketball | 12/20/2023 12:20:00 PM

Men's Basketball Puts Up a Strong Fight Against No. 20 Widener in Cruzin Classic Opener

Next Game:

vs. Ursinus College

12/21/2023 | 12 p.m. EST

Next Game

Full Schedule

Dec. 21 (Thu) / 12 p.m. EST

vs. Ursinus College

History

Recap
Roster

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. - Starting the 2023 Cruzin Classic, the Carthage College men's basketball team put up a valiant fight against No. 20 Widener but came up just short, falling 81-78 on Wednesday morning.

Final score: Widener 81 - Carthage 78
Location: Miami Shores, Florida - Health Sports Center Cesar Odio Court
Records: Widener 9-1, Carthage 8-3

Ryan Johnson's two successful free throws reduced the Pride's early lead to five points, marking 13:30 remaining in the first half.
A jumper by Widener extended the lead to 32-18, leaving 6:04 on the clock in the first half.
Heading into halftime, the Pride maintained a commanding 44-25 margin.
In the second half, after Widener reached 62-46 with a jumper, Carthage embarked on a remarkable 19-3 run. This surge, highlighted by a jumper from Antuan Nesbitt, gave the Firebirds a two-point advantage.
Both teams exchanged baskets until Widener regained a seven-point lead with 3:41 left.
In the closing moments, a three-pointer from Tanner Lamb and a free throw from Ryan Johnson brought Carthage within one point with 45 seconds remaining.
The Pride extended their lead to 81-78 with two crucial free throws.
Despite Carthage having a chance to force overtime with a three-pointer, the attempt fell short, resulting in a narrow defeat for the Firebirds.

Five Firebirds recorded double-digit points: Antuan Nesbitt (16), AJ Williams (15), Ryan Johnson (15), Julian Campbell (11), Tanner Lamb (11).
Nesbitt tallied his first double-double of the season as the junior guard grabbed 10 rebounds.
Ryan Johnson and Fillip Bulatovic each had eight rebounds in the contest.

"After putting ourselves in a hole the first 20 minutes, we competed at a high level and shared the basketball nicely in the second 20 minutes. To win close games, however, you need to make free throws. The difference was 10-23 from the free throw line.

Widener is one of the best teams we've seen all year. They are experienced and always have five guys on the floor who can score it, which makes it a difficult guard. They're a top-20 team for a reason. It was a fun matchup, but I wish we would have ended up on the winning side.

One more game down here against an athletic Ursinus team. They have a lot of size and really attack the basket. We need to start the game much better than we did today."