Go figure. On Saturday, Dec. 11, Carthage's Steve Djurickovic scored 40 points, the second-highest total of his career, and Carthage lost to Albion College, 93-88 in overtime. On Sunday, Dec. 12, he matched his career low with just eight points, but the Carthage College men's basketball team (7-3, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 19th in the Dec. 7 "D3hoops.com" poll, defeated Cardinal Stritch University (6-5), 90-84 at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.
The game closed out the Red Men's December schedule. Carthage plays its final non-conference game on Sunday, Jan. 2 against Transylvania University at the Beck Athletic Recreation Center in Lexington, Ky., beginning at 2 p.m., EST.
The first half of the Cardinal Stritch contest was close, with seven lead changes and four ties. Cardinal Stritch led by as much as seven points, 22-15, at 8:42. Carthage took a 29-28 lead at 3:18, and the Red Men led by four at the break, 36-22. In the second half, the game was tied, 46-46, at 13:48 before Carthage took the lead, to stay, 48-46, at 13:45 on a dunk by Mitch Thompson. The Red Men went up by eight points, 61-53, at 9:37. The Wolves cut the lead to four points on three occasions in the final two minutes, but Carthage went on to win by six points, 90-84.
Carthage shot 49 percent (27-55), while Cardinal Stritch shot 48 percent (30-63). The rebounds were about even, with the Red Men holding a narrow, 34-33 edge over the Wolves. Four Carthage starters scored in double figures. Malcom Kelly (So., Kenosha, Wis./Reuther) had his second-straight 20-point game with 26 on seven-of-15 field goals, including five-of-eight three-pointers, along with a perfect seven-of-seven free throws, four rebounds and three assists. Kelly had 24 points in Saturday's loss to Albion.
Max Carey (Jr. Geneva, Ill.) had 15 points on five-of-nine shooting, along with six rebounds. Tyler Pierce (So., Westmont, Ill.) scored 14 points with seven boards, and Mitch Thompson (So., Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) added 10 points and six rebounds. Steve Djurickovic (Sr., Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kenosha-Bradford) was limited to eight points with six assists. His only other career game with less than 10 points was an eight-point effort versus Elmhurst College on Jan. 13, 2010, in a game where he dished out a Carthage-record 13 assists. Navjot Singh topped the Wolves with a game-high 30 points on 12-of-18 field goals, along with seven rebounds, while Brandon D'Amico had 23 points and seven boards.
"This was a better result than Saturday's Albion game," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic, "because we're in a business of winning. We'll take it and move forward. We made some adjustments, defensively, after Saturday's loss. You have to do what you have to do, and that's what this team is going to have to do more of. We're going to have to be more creative to get the job done. Malcom Kelly did an outstanding job, especially in the second half. He's a guy who spends an appropriate amount of time in the gym, and he continues to get better. This win was his, as much as anybody else's. We rebounded better in this game, and that effort was good. This might be the first time that one of my teams has had a three-week break. We have a grueling stretch in the CCIW after Transylvania, with games against Wheaton, Illinois Wesleyan, Elmhurst and Augustana. We'll now in the first two weeks where we stand, but I still have every bit of confidence in this basketball team."