RIPON – The Carthage College men's basketball team dominated from start to finish on Wednesday afternoon, rolling past Ripon 84-56 in nonconference play.

• Final Score: Carthage 84 – Ripon 56
• Location: Ripon, Wisconsin – Weiske Gymnasium
• Records: Carthage 3-2, Ripon 0-6

• Antuan Nesbitt opened the afternoon with a layup, sparking an early surge that put the Firebirds ahead 5-2.
• AJ Johnson followed with a three-pointer, and Nesbitt added another layup as Carthage built a 12-5 advantage.
• Riley Brooks knocked down free throws and converted a layup off an offensive rebound to extend the margin to 29-18 with just under eight minutes left in the half.
• Carthage continued to push the pace, with fast-break layups from Brooks, Nesbitt, and Griffin Daun helping stretch the lead to 37-18.
• Brooks added a three-pointer, and Chris Schlesinger drilled a corner three as the Firebirds maintained control.
• Carthage closed the half on a strong defensive stretch, capped by a Nesbitt layup in the final seconds for a 49-28 halftime lead.
• In the second half, AJ Johnson opened the scoring with a jumper before Nesbitt buried a three-pointer to make it 54-28.
• Brooks added another three from the wing, and Daun scored in transition to push the lead to 60-30.
• Schlesinger and AJ Williams contributed from beyond the arc as the Firebirds kept the margin above twenty throughout the period.
• Carthage remained in command over the final ten minutes, using steady defense and balanced scoring to cruise to the 84-56 victory.

• Riley Brooks led the Firebirds with 16 points and six rebounds.
• Antuan Nesbitt added 15 points, four assists, and three rebounds.
• Chris Schlesinger provided 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists off the bench.
• AJ Johnson scored 12 points and collected two steals, while Ryan Johnson finished with eight points, nine rebounds, and three assists.
• Griffin Daun added six points, four rebounds, and three steals in a strong two-way effort.

"This is a resilient group and I was proud of how we came out and competed today. Offensively, we shared the ball the best we have all year, got to our spots, and executed at a really high level. Defensively, this may have been our best 40 minutes of the year. We held Ripon to 30% from the floor and were relentless on that end of the floor.

AJ Johnson was terrific on both ends today! He got to his spots nicely and made the correct decision while guarding Ripon's leading scorer. Riley Brooks and Antuan Nesbitt played nicely and hit some shots to extend our lead in the middle of the first half. 

Griffin Daun, AJ Williams, Ryan Johnson, and Chris Schlesinger were outstanding on the defensive end, while Nate Montgomery and Mason Miller both had some nice moments.

It's been a long month on the road, and excited to get back to Tarble Arena next Wednesday. Need to prepare to the best of our ability as we begin CCIW play with Illinois Wesleyan coming to Kenosha. 

Happy Thanksgiving and Go Firebirds!!"
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• Carthage heads home to start conference play against Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday, December 3, at 7 p.m.