The Carthage College men's basketball team (1-1, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) lost to the University of Dubuque (5-0), 93-89 in overtime, on Saturday, Nov. 23 in the title game of the Carthage Classic at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.
The Red Men opened their 2013-14 season on Friday, Nov. 22 with an 84-78 win over Alma College (0-4) in the first round of the tournament. The University of Dubuque (4-0) defeated Benedictine University (Ill., 0-2), 79-76, in the other first-round game, and Benedictine (Ill., 1-2) defeated Alma (0-5), 91-70, in the Saturday, Nov. 23 consolation game.
In the title game, Carthage opened an 18-point lead in the first half, 29-11, at 5:04. The lead went to 20 points late in the period, 40-20, with 53 seconds to go, and the Red Men led by 27 at the break, 40-23. The Spartans opened the second period with an 18-4 run to cut the lead to three, 44-41, at 15:54. Dubuque pulled to within a point at 8:39 and 6:36 before taking its first lead of the game, 73-72, on a layup by Andre Norris at 2:19. The game was tied, 76-76, with 28 seconds to go, after Carthage's Marlon Senior hit the back end of a two-shot free throw. With 2.5 second remaining, Dubuque's Mitch Michaelis connected on an off-balance jumper from the left side to give the Spartans a 78-76 lead. The Red Men worked the ball to midcourt, called a timeout and then Reese Herth was fouled on a three-point attempt. Herth missed the first free throw but made the next to send the game into overtime tied at 78 each.
Carthage's last lead was 80-78 at 4:28 in overtime. The Spartans took the lead, for good, 81-80, at 4:15 on a three-pointer by Chris Frazier and went on to win by four points, 93-89.
Carthage shot 46 percent (30-66), including eight-of-20 three-pointers, while Dubuque shot 47 percent (26-55), including nine-of-21 from three-point range. The Spartans got to the free-throw line 41 times and made 32, while the Red Men were 21-of-30 from the line. Carthage out-rebounded Dubuque, 41-33. All five Red Men starters scored in double figures, with Reese Herth (Jr., Morton Grove, Ill./Skokie-Niles West) leading the way with 16 points on just four-of-14 shooting, along with six-of-seven free throws. Mike Kastel (Jr., St. Charles, Ill./Exeter (N.H.) Academy) had 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, Kevin Sykes Jr., (Sr., Tinley Park, Ill./Frankfort—Lincoln-Way North) 14 points, Donte Logan (Jr., Evanston, Ill./Skokie-Niles West) 13 points with eight assists, and Marlon Senior (Sr., Skokie, Ill./Niles North) had 13 points and eight rebounds. Jason Scott (Fr., Chicago Heights, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) came off the bench to add 10 points.
Chris Frazier led Dubuque with a game-high 28 points on seven-of-18 field goals, including seven-of-15 from three-point range and a perfect seven-of-seven from the free-throw line.
"This was a game where we had opportunities to win multiple times," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic. "For the first 19 minutes or so, we played as well, defensively, as we can. We were aggressive, we blocked cuts, we read keys, and we really did a good job. Dubuque then came out and scored 10 of the first 12 points of the second half, and it's a different game, because they won that first five minutes so dramatically. Then, every possession became a blood-bath. With the new rules on hand-checking, there were times when the officials weren't even sure who the foul was on. They did a good job, but it made for a difficult situation for the players and the coaches. Good teams have to win games like this, and we think we're a good team. You have to defend your home court, and we didn't."
Carthage plays host to No. 11 Washington University (Mo.) on Wednesday, Nov. 27 in a 7 p.m. game at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. "Washington is one of the cornerstone programs in the country," said Djurickovic. "They won back-to-back national championships five or six years ago. Every year, they're a very competitive team and a team that everyone wants to play. They're one of the elite programs around. They are big and very efficient on offense. They are a really good basketball team."