BLOOMINGTON — The Carthage College men's basketball team battled throughout a tightly contested CCIW Tournament semifinal, as the Firebirds and Elmhurst traded momentum from start to finish. The game featured 14 ties and 18 lead changes, and the second half remained within one possession for much of the final 12 minutes before the Bluejays squeaked out a narrow 82-80 win.

• Final Score: Elmhurst 82 - Carthage 80
• Location: Bloomington, Illinois - Shirk Center
• Records: Elmhurst 19-8, Carthage 18-8

• The Firebirds opened with a 7-2 run, sparked by a three-pointer from Ryan Johnson. A short time later, AJ Williams buried another three to extend the advantage to nine.
• Elmhurst answered with a layup to trim the deficit to one before knocking down a three-pointer at the 10:19 mark to seize a two-point lead.
• Carthage responded with a layup from Griffin Daun and a jumper from R. Johnson to reclaim momentum.
• The Bluejays pushed their lead to seven on a three-pointer, but layups from Antuan Nesbitt and Riley Brooks helped the Firebirds move back in front by one with just over two minutes remaining in the half.
• Elmhurst carried a slim four-point edge into the break.
• Carthage surged early in the second half, as a dunk from Nesbitt put the Firebirds ahead, 51-50.
• After Elmhurst built a three-point cushion, free throws from Chris Schlesinger and a layup by R. Johnson gave Carthage a 54-53 lead with 12:41 to play.
• The teams traded baskets down the stretch, with the Bluejays unable to extend their advantage beyond three points.
• AJ Johnson knocked down a three-pointer to tie the score at 72 entering the media timeout, but Elmhurst countered with a three on the ensuing possession.
• Ryan Johnson answered with a three-pointer at the 2:32 mark to keep the Firebirds within striking distance.
• Brooks converted a pair at the free-throw line to even the score at 77, and a jumper from A. Johnson with 52 seconds left put Carthage ahead by one.
• Elmhurst converted two free throws with 32 seconds remaining to regain a one-point edge, then stretched the margin to three with three seconds left following a missed Carthage three-point attempt.
• A. Johnson made his first free throw and intentionally missed the second. Brooks secured a final look to force overtime but could not connect, as Elmhurst escaped with the narrow victory. 

• Ryan Johnson and Riley Brooks each finished with 19 points, while Johnson tallied 10 rebounds.
• Brooks went 10-for-11 from the free-throw line and hauled down six rebounds. 
• AJ Johnson collected 13 points while Griffin Daun had 11 and five rebounds. 

"Heck of a college basketball game with two excellent teams battling. Statistics were almost identical and came down to the last 30 seconds where Elmhurst got the offensive rebound and stop they needed to win. 

Couldn't be prouder of what this group has done and set the foundation for the future. This is the winningest four year class at Carthage in over 20 years. This team is the only one in the CCIW to get to the weekend semi finals all four years. This team has been selfless all year and just really tough that it ended this way. 

Thankful and appreciative for the contributions of our senior class. Jalen Brown, Mason Miller, AJ Williams, Antuan Nesbitt, Nate Montgomery, AJ Johnson, Griffin Daun, Quentin Villa, Pat Laurich, and Jake Harvey. They've left the program in a much better place than they found it!"