The Carthage College men's basketball team (4-4, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) lost its third-straight game on Saturday, Dec. 12 , losing a 65-53 game to Wisconsin-Oshkosh (5-2) at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.
Wisconsin-Oshkosh jumped out to quick, 7-0 lead, which ballooned to a 15-point spread, 20-5, at 10:05 first period. The Red Men whittled the margin down to 10 points, 25-15, at 7:11, but the Titans went back up by 18 points, 33-15, at 5:47 and led by 13 at halftime, 37-24. Carthage never really threatened in the second half, although the lead was down to 13 points with the ball, 55-42, at 8:38. UW-Oshkosh went on to win by 12 points, 65-53.
The Titans shot 49 percent (25-51), including eight-of-19 from three-point range, while Carthage shot just 35 percent (18-52), including just six-of-20 three-pointers. Wisconsin-Oshkosh got the free-throw line 10 times and made seven, while the Red Men converted 11-of-18. The Titans had a 40-26 rebounding edge.
Three UW-Oshkosh players scored in double figure, with Charlie Noone leading the way with 14 points on five-of-10 field goals, including four-of-nine three-pointers and eight rebounds. Max Schebel came off the bench to score 11 points, and Kyle Bolger added 10 points. Carthage's Sean Valentine (Sr., Cary, Ill./Crystal Lake-Prairie Ridge) scored a game-high 15 points on six-of-12 shooting, along with eight rebounds, and Kevin Kozil (Sr., Prospect Heights, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) had 11 points on four-of-seven field goals.
"It was wire-to-wire, tip-to-finish," said Carthage head coach Bosko Djurickovic. "They played better than we did, and we got what we deserved. It wasn't a matter of not executing, but rather a bigger and stronger team that made it hard for us to get easy shots. Give UW-Oshkosh some credit. They're a very, very good basketball team. This is a game they wanted to win, and we just didn't have an answer for them. I'm frustrated, but not discouraged. We have some people playing well—let's see what we can get done. Our problem remains the physical part. There will be five or so teams in the CCIW which will not bother us in this way, but there will be one or two that will. Until I can came up with a plan where our not-so-physical players can survive, this is what we're going to have. The teams that take us on, physically, make it difficult for us, because we're not as strong as we need to be. Sean Valentine played well. He's a strong, offensive basketball player, and he's waited his turn. It was a step forward for him. "
The Red Men travel to Puerto Rico next weekend for a pair of games at the Puerto Rico Division III Classic. Carthage takes on York College (N.Y.) on Sunday, Dec. 20 at 4 p.m., AST, followed by a Monday, Dec. 21 contest against North Central University 6 p.m., AST. Both games will be played at the Rubén Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, and will be broadcast on WLIP-AM Radio.