WHEATON — The No. 22 Carthage College men's basketball team battled back from multiple deficits and held a late chance in the closing seconds, but Wheaton (Ill.) converted at the free-throw line down the stretch to hand the Firebirds a 96-88 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) road loss Wednesday night.

• Final Score: Wheaton (Ill.) 96 - No. 22 Carthage 88
• Location: Wheaton, Illinois - King Area
• Records: Wheaton (Ill.) 13-11 (7-8 CCIW), No. 22 Carthage 17-7 (11-4 CCIW)

• Wheaton (Ill.) opened with a 15-9 advantage in the first half before Carthage surged ahead 16-15 on a layup by Jabe Haith and a three-pointer from Riley Brooks.
• Moments later, AJ Williams drilled consecutive three-pointers to stretch the Firebirds' lead to seven with 11:11 remaining in the half.
• A Haith jumper pushed the margin to nine, but the Thunder answered with a fastbreak layup to reclaim a 32-31 edge.
• The teams exchanged baskets late in the half until Wheaton (Ill.) hit a jumper with 44 seconds left to take a 42-41 lead into halftime.
• The Thunder scored early after the break to move ahead by eight, though layups from Griffin Daun and Brooks evened the score at 56.
• Wheaton (Ill.) responded with a 16-3 run to build a 72-59 cushion with 9:26 to play.
• Carthage rallied behind layups from Chris Schlesinger and Ryan Johnson, trimming the deficit to 86-82 with 1:47 remaining.
• The Thunder answered with a layup to restore a 10-point margin.
• Carthage cut it to four with 22 seconds left, but Wheaton (Ill.) secured the 96-88 victory by converting late free throws.

• Riley Brooks finished with a double-double for the second-straight game concluding with 26 points and 10 rebounds. 
• Ryan Johnson added 23 points, five rebounds and five assists. 
• Griffin Daun tallied 10 points and six rebounds while AJ Williams had nine points. 

"Tough to win on the road in the CCIW. Wheaton is an excellent offensive basketball team, and they always play well at home. We did a poor job of communication in transition, which allowed them to get some easy baskets. 

We need to bounce back and get ready for a very good Carroll team for the final game of the regular season."

• Carthage concludes the regular season playing Carroll (Wis.) Saturday, February 21, at 4:15 p.m.