BLOOMINGTON - In the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) opener, the Carthage College men's basketball team picked up a 77-68 win over No. 5 Illinois Wesleyan Wednesday night handing the Titans their first loss of the season.  

• Final Score: Carthage 77 - No. 5 Illinois Wesleyan 68
• Location: Shirk Center - Bloomington, Illinois
• Records: Carthage 5-2 (1-0 CCIW), Illinois Wesleyan 6-1 (1-0 CCIW) 

• AJ Johnson's jumper gave the Firebirds an early six-point lead in the first half.
• The Titans cut the margin to one and then took an 18-17 lead on their next possession.
• Riley Brooks responded with a jumper to put Carthage back in front.
• Johnson added free throws to make it 35-30 with 1:11 remaining in the half, but the Firebirds entered intermission with a narrow one-point advantage.
• Brooks sank a three-pointer at the 14:40 mark in the second half, extending the Firebirds' lead to six.
• Illinois Wesleyan fought back again, closing the gap to one with a three-pointer, but AJ Williams' free throws pushed Carthage ahead 59-56 with 8:33 to play.
• Griffin Daun's free throws widened the lead to six, and Colton Sigel's three-pointer made it 70-61.
• The Firebirds sealed the victory at the free-throw line, securing a 77-68 win.

• Riley Brooks posted a new season-best finishing with 29 points followed by AJ Johnson with 16 and Colton Sigel off the bench with 12. 
• AJ Johnson and AJ Williams each grabbed eight rebounds while Ryan Johnson registered six. 
• AJ Johnson led the team in assists with four. 

"So proud of the group and how we battled and played a complete 40 minutes! We preached that the game was going to come down to rebounding, and we ended up Plus 6 on the boards vs a team that has outrebounded opponents by over nine a game! 

So many efforts to mention, but thought the boost we got from Nemi Ostojic was huge tonight! With some tough fouls on Ryan, he did an excellent job physically guarding their two post players who we held to 2-12 from the floor combined. 

Riley Brooks was special in his first CCIW game! He's getting more comfortable in what we are doing on both ends and made some huge baskets when we needed them. AJ Johnson was great in the 2nd half. Colton Sigel and AJ Williams really did well on both ends and made some timely baskets and free throws. 

Back home at Tarble on Saturday for a non-conference game vs Knox. We practiced so well leading into the game tonight and we need the same focus for Saturday!"

• Carthage returns home for a non-conference game against Knox on Saturday, December 7 at 6 p.m.