The Carthage College men's basketball team (11-6, 4-2 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin), tied for 44th place in the Jan. 21 "D3hoops.com" poll, came back from a 22-point second-half deficit before falling to CCIW-opponent Elmhurst College (11-6, 3-3 CCIW), 73-70, on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at R.A. Faganel Hall in Elmhurst, Ill.
With the loss, the Red Men fell out of a three-way tie for first place in the CCIW. No. 4 Illinois Wesleyan University (15-2, 5-1 CCIW) defeated North Central College, 72-57, on Wednesday, with No. 13 Augustana College (Ill., 15-2, 5-1) a winner over Millikin University, also 72-57. Carthage plays host to Illinois Wesleyan this Saturday, Jan. 25 in a 7 p.m. game at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.
Elmhurst jumped out to a 9-0 lead and led by 14 points, 24-10 at 8:41. The Bluejays had a 14-point advantage at the break, 42-28. Elmhurst scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 21-point lead, 49-28, at 17:00, and the lead went to 22 points, 52-30, at 16:27. An unbelievable, 34-12 Carthage run put the Red Men on top for the only time in the game, 66-64, at 2:38. Malcom Kelly scored 13 of those 34 points. The game was tied three times in the two minutes with the last tie at 70-70 with 28 seconds to play on a jumper by Kelly. Two free throws by Will Nixon, sandwiched around a Bryant Ackerman free throw, all with two seconds on the clock, gave the Bluejays their final, 73-70 margin.
Carthage shot 41 percent (23-56), including five-of-16 three-pointers, while Elmhurst shot 47 percent (26-55), including four-of-14 from three-point range. The Red Men got to the free-throw line 28 times and made 19, while the Blue Jays connected on 17-of-22 free throws. Elmhurst out-rebounded Carthage by a 38-30 margin. The Bluejays turned the ball over 16 times to 10 for the Red Men.
Four Elmhurst starters scored in double figures, with Kyle Wuest leading the way with 17 points on six-of-13 field goals, including zero-of-five from three-point range, along with five-of-seven free throws, four rebounds and four assists. Will Nixon scored 14 points with four rebounds, Nick Sanford 10 points with eight boards and Taylor Baxter 10 points with five rebounds and four assists.
Malcom Kelly (Sr., Kenosha, Wis./Reuther), this weeks' CCIW "player of the week" for the second-straight week, scored a game-high 24 points. Kelly connected on eight-of-18 field goals and seven-of-seven free throws, along with eight rebounds. Kevin Sykes Jr. (Sr., Tinley Park, Ill./Frankfort—Lincoln-Way North) had 15 points on four-of-seven shooting, including three-of-five from three-point range.