The Carthage College men's basketball team (10-5, 3-1 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) upset CCIW-opponent and No. 21 Wheaton College (Ill.. 10-5, 3-1 CCIW), 67-62, on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. With the win, Carthage moved into a first-place tie in the league with Wheaton, llinois Wesleyan University (13-2, 3-1) and Augustana College (Ill., 13-2, 3-1 CCIW).
Wheaton led for almost all of the first half, except for one early Carthage lead and four ties. Following the fourth tie at 20-20 at 8:37, the Thunder inched out to an eight-point lead, 30-22, at 3:27 and led by six at halftime, 36-30. The Red Men tied the game, 40-40, at 15:38 and took a three-point lead, 48-45, at 13:40. The Thunder went back up by five, 55-50, at 10:35, and Wheaton was still nursing a one-point lead, 59-58, at 5:43. Carthage took the lead, to stay, 60-59, at 4:34 on a pair of free throws by Malcom Kelly. The Red Men extended their lead to as much as six points down the stretch, 65-59, with 28 seconds to go and went on to win by five points, 67-62.
Carthage shot just 50 percent (21-42), including four-of-10 three-pointers, while Wheaton (Ill) shot 40 percent (21-52), including just seven-of-22 from three-point range and just 31 percent overall in the second half (8-26). The Thunder did not make a field goal in the final seven and one-half minutes after Caleb DeMoss connected on a three-pointer at 7:32. The Red Men got to the free-throw line 30 times and made 21, while the Thunder connected on 13-of0-118 free throws. Carthage had a 33-26 rebounding advantage.
Three Red Men starters scored in double figures. Malcom Kelly (Sr., Kenosha, Wis./Reuther), this weeks' CCIW "player of the week," tallied a game-high 28 points on 10-of-16 field goals, including two-of-five three-pointers and six-of-11 from the free-throw line, along with four rebounds. Kelly's second three-pointer at 13:40 second half was the 191st of his career and pushed him past Antoine McDaniel (190, 200-03) as the Red Men's career three-point leader. Marlon Senior (Sr., Skokie, Ill./Niles North) scored 16 points on five-of-nine field goals and six-of-six free throws, along with a game-high eight rebounds. Reese Herth (Jr., Morton Grove, Ill./Skokie-Niles West) chipped in 10 points. Tyler Peter led Wheaton with 20 points on six-of-13 shooting and six-of-nine free throws, along with six boards.
"This is the highest level of NCAA Division III basketball," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic. "When you sign on to play in this league, you play in the most-intense competition that you can at our level. Both teams competed at an extremely-high level. This was not a pretty game, but both teams played very well, defensively, in the second half. They missed some shots, we made some free throws, and we came out ahead. The first half was not so good for us, and we only had two assists in the first half. Malcom Kelly made great plays after great plays and put the team on his back once again, and that's what star seniors do. Mike Kastel has changed our physical culture. He plays with a ridiculous passion, and it rubs off on other players. He has changed our rebounding game to a very competitive situation."
Carthage travels to Decatur, Ill., on Saturday, Jan. 18 to take on conference-opponent Millikin University (7-8, 1-3 CCIW) in a 7 p.m. contest at the Griswold Center.