The Carthage College men's basketball team (9-9, 4-3 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) went over the .500 mark in the CCIW on Wednesday, Jan. 23 with a 69-60 win over North Park University (6-12, 1-6 CCIW) at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.

Carthage jumped out to an eight-point lead, 10-2, at 16:26, but a 15-4 North Park run erased that lead and put the Vikings up, 15-14, at 9:38.  North Park extended its lead to as much as six points, 24-18, at 4:25, but the Red Men led by three at halftime, 33-30.  Carthage stretched its lead to 11 points early in the second half,  46-35, at 13:01, and the Vikings got no closer than six points the rest of the way.  The Red Men led by as much as 14 points, 63-49, at 2:56 and went on to win by nine, 69-60.

Carthage shot 47 percent (26-55), including just three-of-10 three-pointers, while North Park shot just 32 percent (21-65), including nine-of-24 from three-point range.  The Red Men got to the free-throw line 20 times and made 14, while the Vikings converted nine-of-12.  Carthage had a 47-31 rebounding advantage, including 17 offensive boards. 

Carthage's leading scorer, Tyler Pierce (Sr., Westmont, Ill.), missed another game with an ankle injury.  Four Red Men starters scored in double figures.  Mitch Thompson (Sr., Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg, this week's CCIW "player of the week," led the way with 19 points on eight-of-15 field goals, along with three-of-four free throws, 16 rebounds and two blocks.  Marlon Senior (Jr., Skokie, Ill./Niles North) had 17 points on six-of-11 shooting and a career-high 13 rebounds.  Reese Herth (So., Morton Grove, Ill./Skokie-Niles West) had 14 points and five boards, while Donte Logan (So., Evanston, Ill./Skokie-Niles West) chipped in 12 points and four assists.  Reggie McGee topped North Park with 15 points, and Zach Cassita added 13 points.

"This was one of the stranger games that I've been a part of," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic, "and I've been a part of a lot of strange games.  North Park really maximizes the guys they have, and they approach the game with a good idea.  I thought we played hard enough, but we could have played better.  They had eight steals, and we turned the ball over 17 times—that's not Carthage basketball, and you have to give North Park credit for that.  Since we couldn't score against their press, that gave them the opportunity to guard us again on the half court.  That's an exciting way to play defense."

Carthage entertains conference-opponent Millikin University (7-11, 3-4 CCIW) on Saturday, Jan. 26 in a 7:30 p.m. contest, also at Tarble Arena.