The Carthage College men's basketball team (12-9, 5-5 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) shocked CCIW-opponent, No. 3 and previously-undefeated Augustana College (Ill., 20-1, 9-1 CCIW), 65-58, on Saturday night, Feb. 5 at the Roy J. Carver Center in Rock Island, Ill.
With No. 1 the College of Wooster losing at home to Wabash College on Saturday, 69-68 in overtime, Augustana or No. 2 Whitworth University would have become the nation's top-ranked team on Tuesday. With Wheaton College (Ill.) winning over North Park University, 64-55, on Saturday, the Red Men remain in fifth place in the league, one game out of the CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament.
Augustana roared out to a 12-0 lead at 16:11, thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Troy Rorer and two baskets by Kyle Nelson. The Vikings made it 15-2 at 15:25. The Red Men closed to within four points, 15-11, at 11:36 and again at 28-24 at 3:07. Carthage made it a two-point game, 28-26, with 17 seconds to play in the half on a Mitch Thompson jumper. Bryant Voiles answered with a three-pointer at the buzzer, and the Vikings led by five at the break, 31-26.
The Red Men tied the game, 33-33, at 17:19 second period and took a one-point lead, 39-38, at 13:12. Carthage took a six-point lead, 46-40, at 8:28 after Malcom Kelly scored on a layup and a three-pointer. After Augustana cut the lead to one, 48-47, at 5:13, jumpers by Kelly and Steve Djurickovic gave Carthage a six-point lead, 53-47, at 4:10. A three-pointer by Troy Rorers shaved the lead to three, 53-50, at 2:53, but the Red Men's Jon Cieski answered with a three at 2:21 to put Carthage back up by six, 56-50. Trailing by six, 59-53, the Vikings made it a three-point game with 35.7 seconds left on a three-pointer by Bryant Voiles. Djurickovic was fouled with 34.9 seconds and made both free throws to make it 61-56. He was fouled again at 24.6 seconds, made both free throws again, and the lead went to 63-56. The Red Men went on to win by seven points, 65-58.
Carthage shot 44 percent (25-57), including four-of-17 from three-point range, while Augustana shot 44 percent (23-52), including seven-of-21 three-pointers. The Vikings had a 39-31 rebounding edge over the Red Men. Carthage's Steve Djurickovic (Sr., Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kenosha-Bradford) scored a game-high 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting, along with six-of-eight free throws and four assists. Malcom Kelly (So., Kenosha, Wis./Reuther) had 17 points on six-of-11 field goals, including two-of-six three-pointers. Kyle Nelson topped Augustana with 27 points and seven rebounds. Bryant Voiles had 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Troy Rorer chipped in 11 points.
"It was a good effort by our guys," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic, "and we showed a lot of resiliency. We executed the game plan almost to perfection, and we had some wonderful efforts from some surprising people. David Mariani was just outstanding—he played with a passion that we have not always had this year. White it's exciting, let's not make too much of it. We're 5-5 in the CCIW, even if we might be one of the best 5-5 teams around. All we've done tonight is to give ourselves a chance to get something done in a four-game stretch. We used the zone all game to control Augustana's inside-passing game. They are so big and so physical, we just don't match up with them. The zone also gives an opponent opportunities on the perimeter, and Troy Rorer, who is not a particularly good outside shooter, made three three-pointers. We also did a great job with turning the ball over just five times. Augustana is a good team, they're going to win the league and go on to the national tournament. We want to finish as best we can and see what happens with the conference tournament."
Carthage plays host to CCIW-opponent Elmhurst College (7-13, 2-7 CCIW) on Wednesday, Feb. 9 in a 7:30 p.m. game at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.