The Carthage College men's basketball team (11-5, 4-1 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) hung on for a 76-68 road win over CCIW-opponent Millikin University (7-9, 1-4 CCIW) on Saturday night, Jan. 18 at the Griswold Center in Decatur, Ill. With the win, Carthage remains in a first-place tie in the league with Illinois Wesleyan University (14-2, 4-1 CCIW) and Augustana College (Ill., 14-2, 4-1). Illinois Wesleyan was a 78-71 winner over Wheaton College (Ill., 10-6, 3-2) on Saturday night.
Carthage jumped out to a 15-5 lead at 14:48. Millikin closed to gap to four points, 21-17, at 9:15, but the Red Men closed out the half on a 19-10 run to lead by 13 at the break, 40-27. Malcom Kelly scored 17 points in the first period on five-of-six shooting, including four-of-four three-pointers.
The Big Blue came out of the locker room on fire, scoring the first nine points of the period to close to within four, 40-36, at 18:02. After the Red Men went back up by nine, 45-36, at 17:03, an 8-2 Millikin run cut the lead to three points, 47-44, at 14:17. Leading by four, 53-49, at 11:10, Carthage extended its lead to 11 points, 60-49, at 7:39. The Big Blue came right back with a 9-2 run to make it a four-point game once again, 62-58, at 5:36. It was a four-point contest again, 72-68, at 1:04 when Malcom Kelly connected on a tough jumper from the right side with 30 seconds to go to make it 74-68. Two Donte Logan free throws with 10 seconds remaining closed out the scoring at 76-68.
Carthage shot 50 percent (23-46), including seven-of-13 three-pointers, while Millikin shot 46 percent (27-59), including just five-of-22 from three-point range. The Red Men got to the free-throw line 34 times and made 23, while the Big Blue connected on nine-of-18 free throws. Carthage had a narrow, 34-32 rebounding advantage.
Malcom Kelly (Sr., Kenosha, Wis./Reuther), this weeks' CCIW "player of the week," who had a game-high 28 points in Wednesday's win over No. 21 Wheaton College (Ill.), led the Red Men again with a career-high 33 points. Kelly connected on 12-of-16 field goals, including five-of-six three-pointers and four-of-six free throws, along with five rebounds. Mike Kastel (Jr., St. Charles, Ill./Exeter (N.H.) Academy) scored points with nine rebounds, and Marlon Senior (Sr., Skokie, Ill./Niles North) had 11 points, nine boards and four assists. T.J. Griffin led the Big Blue with 19 points on eight-of-17 shooting, and Deavis Johnson had 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
"We played a very good game against a very nice Millikin team," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic. "We could have made it easier on ourselves, but I'm not going to nit-pick. For Malcom Kelly, it's almost like watching an NBA player. By that I mean that the game almost seems like it's in slow-motion for him. He knows when to pull back and shoot the three, and he knows when to attack the rim. He was exceptional tonight from the beginning to the end. He has been sensational in CCIW play and has put this team on his back. He's become our number-one players, and that allows Marlon Senior and the others to take a deep breath and do what they do best. Mike Kastel was the best player on the court tonight not named Kelly. Kastel pulled down some man's rebounds, at the rim or above and in traffic. All in all, I thought it was a very good team effort. My favorite crooked number at this point in the season is that we have made more free throws than our opponents have shot."
Carthage travels to Elmhurst, Ill., on Wednesday, Jan. 22 to play conference-opponent Elmhurst College (10-6, 2-3 CCIW) in a 7 p.m. game at R.A. Faganel Hall. "We're now five games into the conference season," pointed out Djurickovic, "and a win Wednesday night lets you think that you're a contending team to win this thing, and that's the goal every year."