The Carthage College men's basketball team (7-6, 1-1 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) saw its league record fall even at 1-1 on Wednesday, Jan. 6 with an 87-79 loss to North Park University (9-4, 1-1 CCIW) at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.

North Park opened a quick, nine-point lead, 14-5, at 14:50, with Jordan Robinson scoring six points.  A 15-3 Carthage run gave the Red Men a 20-17 lead at 12:22.  Carthage led by as much as six points in the first period, 33-27, at 6:51, but a 13-2 Vikings run put North Park back up by five, 40-35, at 3:40.  The Vikings led by two points at the break, 44-42.

Carthage tied the game, 44-44, on the first basket of the second half, a jumper by Mike Leazer.  North Park's Colin Lake answered with a three-pointer at 19:13, and the Vikings never looked back, except for another tie, 50-50, at 15:00.  North Park extended its lead to as much as 11 points on three occasions, the last at 79-68, at 4:28.  The Red Men cut the margin to three points, 80-77, at 1:44 on a layup by Leazer, but a layup by Juwan Henry and two free throws by Jordan Robinson gave North Park a seven-point lead, 84-77, with 58 seconds to go.  The Vikings went on to win by eight, 87-79.

North Park shot 53 percent (31-58), including six-of-17 three-pointers, while Carthage shot 48 percent (27-56), including 10-of-24 from three-point range.  The Vikings got to the free-throw line 31 times and made 19, while the Red Men converted 15-of-23.  North Park won the rebounding battle by a 38-33 margin.

Four Viking starters scored in double figures, with Juwan Henry (Jr., Chicago, Ill./Bogan) putting in a game-high 28 points on 11-of-21 field goals, along with four-of-five free throws and five rebounds.  Colin Lake scored 18 points on six-of-10 shooting, including four-of-seven three-pointers.  Jordan Robinson (So., Schaumburg, Ill./Hoffman Estates) had 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while Darius Brown chipped in 13 points and five boards.

Carthage also had four starters in double figures.  Jordon Kedrowski (Fr., Bolingbrook Ill./Downers Grove-North) scored 16 points on five-of-17 shooting, including four-of-10 from three-point range.  Brad Kruse (So., Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Lake Zurich) had 15 points on six-of-eight field goals and 10 rebounds, Mike Leazer (Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Niles-Northridge Prep) 14 points and Mike Stevenson (Jr., Burlington, Wis./Wilmot-Union) 12 points and eight rebounds.  Tony Pierce Jr. (Sr., Evanston, Ill./Skokie-Niles West) was limited to seven points on three-of-nine shooting.

"We wanted them to take difficult shots," said Carthage head coach Bosko Djurickovic.  "but that wasn't the case.  Give North Park credit, and not just Juwan Henry and Jordan Robinson.  That whole team plays with wonderful confidence, and we're not quite there yet.  North Park took advantage of our lack of rebounding, and their defensive rhythm bothered us.  It wasn't easy for Tony Pierce to get good looks tonight, and give North Park credit for that, too.  We were also way too reliant on Jordon Kedrowski.  We just didn't play well enough to win this game." 

Carthage travels to Bloomington, Ill., on Saturday, Jan. 9 to take on Illinois Wesleyan University (7-8, 1-1 CCIW) in a 7 p.m. game at the Shirk Center.  The Titans won an 82-66 home game over Wheaton College (Ill.) on Wednesday.  "Illinois Wesleyan is a very solid basketball team," pointed out Djurickovic, "and they're always tough at home.  They might not have the star power that we're used to seeing, but they're deep and balanced"