The Carthage College men's basketball team (14-6, 7-2 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) defeated CCIW opponent North Central College (10-10, 3-6 CCIW), 54-49, on Saturday night, Feb. 1 at Gregory Arena at Merner Fieldhouse in Naperville, Ill.
The Red Men are tied for first place with Wheaton College (Ill., 14-6, 7-2 CCIW), both one-half game ahead of No. 6 Illinois Wesleyan University (16-3, 6-2 CCIW). The Titans were scheduled to entertain North Park University on Saturday, but that game was postponed due to a winter storm. Wheaton (Ill.) defeated No. 14 Augustana College (Ill., 15-5, 5-4), 76-70, on Saturday. Carthage travels to Wheaton (Ill.) on Wednesday, Feb. 5 for a 7 p.m. game at King Arena.
Carthage led, 20-14, at 6:52 first half, but North Central closed out the half with a 14-7 run to take a 28-27 halftime lead. In the second half, the Red Men pulled away to an eight-point lead, 45-37 at 10:03. The Cardinals pulled to within a point, 46-45, at 6:54. and a three-point play by Pat Rourke at 3:17 tied the game, 48-48. Two free throws by Malcom Kelly at 2:20 put Carthage back up by two, 50-48. One free throw by Reese Herth with 54 seconds left made it a three-point game, 51-48. One free throw by Vince Kmiec, with 52 seconds remaining, cut the lead to 51-49. Carthage's Scott McNellis connected on two free throws with 14 seconds to go to up the Red Men's lead to four points, 53-49. A Reese Herth free throw with seven seconds on the clock closed out the scoring at 54-49.
Carthage shot just 33 percent (14-43), including six-of-20 three-pointers, while North Central shot 37 percent (17-46), including five-of-14 from three-point range. The Red Men got to the free-throw line 25 times and made 20, while the Cardinals connected on 10-of-18 free throws. Carthage out-rebounded North Central, 37-28.
Carthage's Malcom Kelly (Sr., Kenosha, Wis./Reuther) scored a game-high 16 points on five-of-nine field goals and five-of-seven free throws, along with seven rebounds. Reese Herth (Jr., Morton Grove, Ill./Skokie-Niles West) was the only other Carthage player in double figures with 10 points on three-of-10 shooting, including two-of-eight three-pointers, along with a game-high nine rebounds. Brandon Williams led the Cardinals with 14 points on six-of-13 field goals, while Vince Kmiec added 12 points.
"It wasn't pretty" said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic, "but the game was played at the pace that the game gave. North Central is an outstanding team—they just don't have as many offensive options as they once did. We would have preferred a more free-flowing game, and there were no easy looks for either side tonight. Some of our guys who didn't shoot the ball so well tonight did a great job on the boards. Scott McNellis' two free throws late were also a big key to this win. Mike Kastel has played great this year, and he is just a competitor. We're thrilled to get this one, and we now have a huge game at Wheaton on Wednesday. Wheaton is really, really good. We know what we have ahead of us, but this team is starting to understand what it takes to win. This is going to be a very tough week."