CHICAGO — Carthage used a decisive second-half surge to pull away from North Park on its way to an 85-70 victory in conference action, turning a tight early contest into a double-digit win. The Firebirds built a 10-point halftime lead, then opened the final period with sustained pressure to maintain control the rest of the way.

• Final Score: Carthage 85 - North Park 70
• Location: Chicago, Illinois - Carlson Gymnasium
• Records: Carthage 14-6 (8-3 CCIW), North Park 11-9 (4-7 CCIW)

• North Park held a slim 12-9 edge early before an 8-2 surge pushed the Vikings in front 20-11. AJ Johnson's three-pointer sparked a 14-5 Carthage run to swing momentum.
• A jumper from Chris Schlesinger extended the advantage to eight.
• Ryan Johnson converted a layup with 35 seconds remaining as Carthage carried a 39-29 lead into halftime.
• Ryan Johnson scored five straight points to open the second half, stretching the margin to 44-31.
• AJ Williams knocked down a jumper to make it 56-39 with 13:18 left in regulation.
• Jabe Haith followed with a jumper to extend the lead to 62-42.
• After North Park trimmed it to 62-46, Riley Brooks answered on the next possession with a three-pointer.
• Griffin Daun added a layup before Brooks sank a pair of free throws at the 6:39 mark, pushing the lead to 16.
• Free throws from R. Johnson sealed control as the Firebirds closed out an 85-70 victory. 

• AJ Johnson finished with a season-best 25 points and eight rebounds, while Ryan Johnson added 11 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. 
• Antuan Nesbitt recorded 11 points and seven rebounds. 
• Chris Schlesinger had a team-best 10 rebounds, a new season-best for the junior. Riley Brooks followed closely with nine rebounds

"Excellent defensive effort against the highest scoring team in the league. They have a ton of weapons on the offensive end, and our guys stepped up to the challenge. Our help defense was solid and had another really nice day on the boards. Plus 12 on the boards and five players with over seven, with Chris, AJ Johnson, Antuan, Riley, and Ryan. 

Offensively we shared the basketball with 17 assists. Very unselfish and found AJ Johnson a bunch in the first half to get us going after a slow start. 

Back at Tarble on Wednesday! Need to protect home court against a physical North Central team!"

• Carthage heads home playing North Central (Ill.) on Wednesday, February 4 at 7 p.m.