The Carthage College men's basketball team (16-9, 9-5 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) closed out its regular-season schedule on Saturday, Feb. 22 with a 79-64 win over CCIW-opponent Millikin University (8-17, 2-12 CCIW) at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.
The Red Men, who had already clinched a spot in the CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament, will be the fourth-seeded team in that event and will take on top-seeded, conference-champion and No. 4 Illinois Wesleyan University (22-3, 12-2 CCIW) in a Friday, Feb. 28 semifinal game at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Ill., beginning at 7 p.m. The Titans won their 29th league title on Saturday with a 97-88 win over second-place Wheaton College (Ill., 17-8, 10-4). The Thunder will take on third-seeded Augustana College (Ill., 19-6, 9-5) in the other semifinal contest on Friday, beginning at 5 p.m.
Carthage led from the opening seconds, and the Red Men took a 13-point lead, 20-7, at 13:39. The Big Blue closed to within five points twice, 24-19 at 7:09, and 26-21 at 6:33. Carthage pulled away from there to take a 14-point halftime lead, 42-28. The Red Men went up by 20 points early in the second half, 52-32, at 17:13 and were in charge all the way. The lead went to 26 points late in the game, 77-51, at 6:10, and the Red Men went on to win by 15 points, 79-64.
Carthage shot 51 percent (30-59), including seven-of-20 three-pointers, while Millikin shot 42 percent (22-53), including just two-of-12 from three-point range. The Red Men got to free-throw line 17 times and made 12, while the Big Blue connected on 18-of-26. Carthage out-rebounded Millikin, 36-32.
Four Red Men starters scored in double figures. Marlon Senior (Sr., Skokie, Ill./Niles North) led the way with a game-high 19 points on nine-of-17 field goals, but zero-of-five from three-point range, along with four rebounds. Malcom Kelly (Sr., Kenosha, Wis./Reuther) scored 18 points on five-of-seven shooting, including two-of-three three-pointers, along with six-of-seven free throws and six rebounds. Kevin Sykes Jr. (Sr., Tinley Park, Ill./Frankfort—Lincoln-Way North) had 14 points, and Donte Logan (Jr., Evanston, Ill./Skokie-Niles West) added 10 points and eight assists. Reese Herth (Jr., Morton Grove, Ill./Skokie-Niles West) came off the bench to score 10 points. Deavis Johnson led the Big Blue with 17 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, while Tives Gardner had 12 points.
"This team has been resilient," said coach Bosko Djurickovic. "To get to 16 wins with our schedule and nine wins in the CCIW is quite an accomplishment. Give them credit for good team preparation all year long. We had 16 assists tonight, and we did a good job of moving the ball from side to side. To be successful in the tournament next weekend, we're going to have to be able to pass the ball well and get the ball to right spots. Overall, we did a solid job against a team that tried their best to chop things up in the second half. Donte Logan has been really good offensively the last four or five games. He's finishing at the rim, and he's controlling the ball very well. Malcom Kelly finished things off nicely for his home career—he's a Kenosha favorite. It's not easy playing in the CCIW at 27 years old, but he's helped us considerably in conference play. We get to continue play, even if it is against Illinois Wesleyan, You don't get to pick who you play, and we'll give it our best effort."