The Carthage College men's basketball team (2-0, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) won the second annual Carroll University (Wis.) "Johnson Bank Tip-Off Tournament" on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 19 with a 73-67 win over the host-Pioneers (1-1) at the Van Male Field House in Waukesha, Wis.

Marian University (Wis., 1-2) defeated Martin Luther College (0-2), 81-71, in the consolation game. On Friday, Nov. 18, Carthage drilled Martin Luther (0-1), 82-51, in a first-round game, with Carroll (Wis., 1-0) defeating Marian (Wis., 0-2), 88-65.

In Saturday's title game, Carthage led for the first nine minutes, before Carroll (Wis.) took an 18-17 lead at 10:27. The Pioneers led by as much as eight points on two occasions in the first period, the last at 36-28 at 2:14. The Red Men re-gained the lead, 37-36, with 49 seconds remaining in the period and led by three at the break, 39-36. Carroll re-gained the lead, 44-43 at 16:42.

The Red Men went back up, 45-44, at 16:27 on a layup by Malcom Kelly. Carthage proceeded to open up a 10-point lead, 60-50, at 10:33. The Pioneers came back with an 11-2 run to close to within a point, 62-61, at 6:39. The game was tied at 65-65 with 3:12 to go. A jumper by Kelly at 2:38 put the Red Men up for good, 67-65, and Carthage went on to win by six points, 73-67.

The Red Men shot 48 percent (22-46), while the Pioneers shot 49 percent (25-51). Carthage out-rebounded Carroll (Wis.), 31-27. Three Red Men starters scored in double figures. Malcom Kelly (Jr., Kenosha, Wis./Reuther) scored a career-high 28 points on 11-of-19 field goals, including six-of-nine from three-point range. Mitch Thompson (Jr., Orland Park, Ill..Sandburg) had 19 points on six-of-10 shooting, and Max Cary (Sr., Geneva, Ill.) added 18 points on just three-of-six field goals but 11-of-12 from the free-throw line, along with a game-high eight rebounds.

Alex Molter topped the Pioneers with 17 points and seven boards. Kelly and Cary, along with Molter, were named to the all-tournament team. Carthage is idle over Thanksgiving and returns to action in its home-opener on Tuesday, Nov. 29 versus Olivet Nazarene University in a 7:30 p.m. contest at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.