WHEATON - The Carthage College men's basketball team improved to 6-1 in conference play with an 85-78 win over Wheaton (Ill.) Saturday night. 

• Final Score: Carthage 85 - 78
• Location: Wheaton, Illinois - King Areana
• Records: Carthage 12-4 (6-1 CCIW), Wheaton (Ill.) 3-13 (0-7 CCIW)

• Riley Brooks gave Carthage an early spark in the first half, hitting a jumper to push the Firebirds up by eight.  
• Brooks struck again with another basket to extend the lead to 10 at the 11:56 mark.  
• Back-to-back three-pointers by Colton Sigel and AJ Williams expanded the advantage to 31-19.  
• Wheaton (Ill.) fought back to close the gap to one, but a dunk and layup by Ryan Johnson, followed by an AJ Johnson layup, rebuilt a seven-point lead for Carthage.  
• The Thunder stayed resilient, trimming the deficit to one by halftime, 44-43.  
• In the second half, Griffin Daun's free throw widened the lead to eight.  
• AJ Williams and AJ Johnson connected on three-pointers to stretch the margin to 69-54.  
• Riley Brooks added a three-pointer, helping Carthage take an 80-61 lead with 6:12 remaining.  
• Despite Wheaton (Ill.) cutting the lead to five with 20 seconds left, Ryan Johnson's closing dunk secured an 85-78 victory for the Firebirds.  

• Four Firebirds scored in double figures: Ryan Johnson (22), AJ Johnson (20), Riley Brooks (15), and AJ Williams (13).  
• Ryan Johnson led on the boards with nine rebounds, followed by Griffin Daun with eight and Riley Brooks with seven.  
• AJ Johnson directed the offense with seven assists, while Griffin Daun added five.  

"Was a fun game today with a lot of offense and not much defense in the first half. I thought our second half defensive effort was excellent and that always starts with AJ Williams and Griffin Daun. We also collectively rebounded with four players with 6 or more. 

We prepared these past few days on just zone work and then forced Wheaton out of it a few minutes into the game after Riley, AJ Williams, Colton, and AJ Johnson made some early shots. The guys responded really well and finished 15-32 from the three point line with 17 Assists to only 3 Turnovers. 

AJ Johnson led the way today with 22 points and 7 assists with no turnovers. He's been shooting the ball with a ton of confidence and really makes our offense go. 

Last game of the first half of conference Wednesday vs Carroll! Need to protect home court!!"

• The Firebirds are at home facing Carroll (Wis.) on Wednesday, January 22 at 7 p.m.