GALLATIN – The Carthage College men's basketball team came within a bucket away from defeating Chatham in the opening game of the Music City Classic but the Firebirds fell to the Cougars 62-60 on Thursday evening. 

• Final Score: Chatham 62 - Carthage 60
• Location: Gallatin, Tennessee - The Student Activities Center at Welch College
• Records: Chatham 8-2, Carthage 7-3

• The Cougars opened with a five-point lead, but Riley Brooks answered with a hook shot in the lane, making it 5-2.  
• Brooks followed with a layup to give Carthage a one-point edge.  
• Chatham regained control, jumping ahead 12-6.  
• Colton Sigel sank a three-pointer to trim the deficit to 12-10.  
• A putback layup from Nemi Ostojic brought the Firebirds within three with 6:50 remaining in the first half.  
• Brooks hit a turnaround fadeaway on the next possession, but Chatham answered to push the score to 22-19.  
• The Cougars extended their lead to five, prompting a Carthage timeout.  
• AJ Williams knocked down a pull-up jumper to cut the lead to seven.  
• Just before halftime, AJ Johnson nailed a jumper, leaving Carthage trailing 34-27 at the break.  
• Layups from Griffin Daun and Brooks brought the Firebirds within two early in the second half.  
• Johnson connected on a three-pointer, making it 41-39.  
• Williams kept Carthage in striking distance with a jumper that brought the gap to three.  
• Chatham responded with a push, extending their lead to nine with 10:04 remaining.  
• Ostojic's layup cut the deficit to five with under 6:30 left, and his free throws narrowed it to three before the Cougars reclaimed a seven-point advantage.  
• Brooks hit a pull-up jumper to make it a two-point game, but Chatham answered with a floater, moving ahead 61-57 with three minutes to go.  
• Johnson drained a long-range three-pointer to bring Carthage within one with 23 seconds remaining.  
• Williams had a clean look at a three-pointer in the final moments, but the shot missed as Chatham held on for a 62-60 victory.  

• Griffin Daun led the Firebirds on the day with 14 points, followed by Riley Brooks and AJ Williams with 12 and 11 respectively. 
• Ryan Johnson grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds for Carthage along with Williams adding eight. 
• Nemi Ostojic added seven rebounds in 17 minutes of play. 

"Very disappointed in the outcome today. Chatham is an excellent basketball team and they were the more aggressive and physical team today. They outplayed us, outworked us, and out-coached us. Proud of how the guys battled back and had a good look at the buzzer to win it! Never easy on trips playing back-to-back and with limited rest. Have another tough matchup tomorrow afternoon and need to get back on track!"

• The Firebirds will play Spalding (Ky.) in the final game of the Music City Classic on Friday, December 20 at 3 p.m.