DECATUR – The Carthage College men's basketball team closed out the regular season with an 84-77 victory over Millikin. The team finished the regular season with a 20-5 overall record, earning its first outright College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) championship since 2010. The 14 conference wins also set a new program record.

• Final Score: Carthage 84 - Millikin 77
• Location: Decatur, Illinois - Griswold P.E. Center 
• Records: Carthage 20-5 (14-2 CCIW), Millikin 11-14 (5-11 CCIW)

• AJ Williams knocked down a jumper early in the first half, giving the Firebirds a four-point lead.
• Millikin answered with a 9-0 run to take a 14-9 advantage.
• Griffin Daun's tip-in tied the game at 23.
• The teams exchanged leads until AJ Johnson's free throws sent Carthage into halftime with a 40-37 edge.
• In the second half, Johnson drained a three-pointer to keep Carthage ahead by two.
• A three from Colton Sigel and a basket from Riley Brooks extended the lead to 61-54.
• Consecutive layups from Ryan Johnson and Daun made it 70-66 with 4:13 remaining.
• Brooks' free throws pushed the lead to double digits.
• With 25 seconds left, AJ Williams' clutch free throws put Carthage up by eight.
• Two final free throws from AJ Johnson secured the 84-77 win for the Firebirds.

• Riley Brooks and AJ Johnson both ended with 23 points in the game while Brooks ahd seven rebounds. 
• AJ Williams added 12 points while Griffin Daun had 10. 
• Ryan Johnson grabbed eight rebounds while Daun had six. Johnson also had four blocked shots. 

"Tonight was a great way to cap off the regular season. Millikin is super well coached and had a ton of energy on their senior day. Was proud of how we stuck together for 40 minutes and got the defensive stops we needed down the stretch. 
AJ Johnson was special tonight! He hit big shot after big shot and closed the game like he always does. Riley Brooks got us off to a great start in the first half and finished with 23 points! 


This team has done some very special things so far this year, but we aren't done yet! Excited to get the opportunity to host the CCIW tournament next weekend and pack Tarble Arena again!"

• Carthage now shifts focus to the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament.
• The Firebirds await their opponent and will be back on the court Friday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m.