The Carthage College men's basketball team (2-1, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) defeated Lake Forest College (0-2), 69-57, on Tuesday, Nov. 20 at the Sports Center in Lake Forest, Ill.
Lake Forest took a 13-6 lead at 14:04 first half, but Carthage used a 16-8 run to take a 22-21 lead at 5:23. The Red Men led by as much as five, 32-27, at 1:24 and led by three at the break, 32-29. The Red Men went back up by five in the second half, 36-31, at 17:20. A steal and a layup by Marlon Senior at 13:12 put Carthage up by nine, 46-37. Steve Jaskulske scored on two-straight layups midway through the second half, putting the Red Men up by 13, 52-39, at 9:24. A tip-in by Luke Johnson at 5:32 upped the Carthage lead to 14 points, 58-44. The Foresters pulled to within seven, 60-53, at 3:45 but the Red Men went on to win by 12 points, 69-57.
Carthage shot 46 percent (26-of-57) but only six-of-22 from three-point range. Lake Forest shot 42 percent (22-52), including eight-of-22 three-pointers. The Red Men converted 11-of-15 free throws and out-rebounded the Foresters, 36-31. Lake Forest turned the ball over 19 times to 13 for Carthage.
Carthage's Luke Johnson (So., Naperville, Ill./West Chicago-Wheaton Academy) scored a game-high 18 points on seven-of-12 field goals, along with three-of-four free throws and a game-high 10 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass. Reese Herth (So., Morton Grove, Ill./Skokie-Niles West) scored 16 points on six-of-11 field goals, along with three-of-three free throws and three steals. Brian Madson led the Foresters with 15 points on six-of-11 shooting, including three-of-eight three-pointers, along with six rebounds. Jeff Beck contributed 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
"I thought we played quite well in the second half," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic, "but we have to execute better offensively. If we do that, our defense will come along. We're making progress. We're playing new people, and everyone has different responsibilities than they had last year. Give Lake Forest credit. They have a whole new group, and they play with energy and passion. They stayed in the game a long, long time because of how hard they compete. Luke Johnson kept us separated tonight with some big offensive rebounds, and that was important. After Saturday's loss, we didn't want this one to get to a four-point game. Steve Jaskulske played well tonight. He catches the ball well, and guys with his size who can do that are at a premium."
On Friday-Saturday, Nov. 23-24, the Red Men play host to the eighth-annual Carthage Classic at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. On Friday, Nov. 23, defending-national-champion and No. 3 Wisconsin-Whitewater (1-0) takes on Aurora University (0-3) at 6 p.m., with Carthage playing Iowa Wesleyan College (5-1) at 8 p.m. The Saturday, Nov. 24 consolation and championship games will be at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.