WAUKESHA— The No. 22 Carthage College men's basketball erased an early deficit, built a double-digit second-half advantage, and withstood a late rally to secure a 71-67 victory over Carroll (Wis.). The Firebirds delivered key baskets in the final minutes and sealed the outcome at the free-throw line, closing out the regular season.  

• Final Score: No. 22 Carthage 71 - Carroll (Wis.) 67
• Location: Waukesha, Wisconsin - Van Male Fieldhouse
• Records: No. 22 Carthage 18-7 (12-4 CCIW), Carroll (Wis.) 12-13 (7-9 CCIW)

• The Pioneers opened with a 10-6 lead before a jumper by Ryan Johnson trimmed the margin to two.
• AJ Johnson evened the score at 10, but Carroll (Wis.) answered with a 12-1 surge to take an 11-point advantage with under nine minutes remaining in the half.
• Carthage chipped away, cutting the deficit to five on a layup from Chris Schlesinger.
• The Firebirds later moved in front by two after a three-pointer from Riley Brooks.
• The visitors reclaimed a one-point edge following a free throw by Antuan Nesbitt.
• In the second half, Carthage stretched its lead to five behind layups from Jabe Haith, Schlesinger, and Griffin Daun.
• A Haith jumper and free throws from AJ Johnson extended the advantage to 10.
• Carroll (Wis.) responded, trimming the deficit to one before taking a 60-57 lead on two free throws.
• The Pioneers held a three-point edge with 3:32 left in regulation.
• Carthage answered with a clutch three-pointer from Nesbitt, and a Ryan Johnson free throw made it 69-64 with 1:20 to play.
• Carroll (Wis.) cut the margin to two and had an opportunity to tie or take the lead, but a steal by Ryan Johnson with four seconds remaining allowed Carthage to close the game at the line, where AJ Johnson converted two free throws to secure the win. 

• Riley Brooks led the way for Carthage offensively, finishing with 16 points. 
• Ryan Johnson notched his 12th double-double to close out the regular season, concluding with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Johnson also recorded four blocks. 
• Antuan Nesbitt chipped in with 12 points and four rebounds. 
• AJ Johnson came off the bench to add 11 points while Griffin Daun dished out a team-best four assists. 

"Another exciting CCIW game that came down to the wire, and I'm proud of our guys battling for the entire 40 minutes. We were frustrated after Wednesday with our defensive effort, and tonight the guys responded by holding Carroll to under 34% from the field. 

It was great to see AJ Johnson out there again after missing the past few games, and he stepped up by finishing the game at the free-throw line! 

Antuan Nesbitt hit arguably the biggest shot of the game with a three-pointer with under two minutes to put us up by four. 

Ryan Johnson was excellent on both ends of the floor to finish with another double-double. 

Lastly, Riley Brooks had another outstanding game to finish the regular season. He's been awesome in the past three games and really stepped up on both ends. 

This group has been special to work with all season, and I'm happy we were able to grind out another road CCIW win and finish 12-4 overall, including 7-1 in the second half of conference play. 

On to Friday and the CCIW Semifinal down in Bloomington. It's tournament time now, need a really good week of practice!"

• Carthage will be the No. 2 seed in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament. 
• The Firebirds will play the highest remaining seed on Friday, February 27, at 5 p.m. in Bloomington, Ill.