The Carthage College men's basketball team (4-7, 0-1 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) opened its CCIW-schedule on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 3 with a 73-42 loss to No. 2 Augustana College (Ill., 11-1, 1-0 CCIW) at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.

Carthage had an 8-7 lead in the early minutes, but Augustana took over, 12-10, at 13:35 and never looked back.  The Vikings opened up a 15-point lead, 30-15, at 5:09 and led by 12 at the break, 33-21.  The second half was all Augustana, as the Vikings used a 24-6 run at the start of the half to open up a 30-point margin, 57-27, at 10:47.  Augustana made it a 39-point game, 70-31, at 6:24 and went on to win by 31 points, 73-42. It was the worst Carthage home loss since falling to Illinois Wesleyan University by 44 points, 98-54, on Feb. 1, 1997 at the Carthage Physical Education Center.

Augustana shot 53 percent (29-55), including six-of-16 from three-point range, while Carthage shot just 34 percent (16-47), including just three-of-17 three-pointers.  The Vikings got to the free-throw line 11 times and made nine, while the Red Men converted seven-of-14.  Augustana won the rebounding battle convincingly, 40-24.

Three Viking starters scored in double figures, with Ben Ryan leading the way with a game-high 20 points on eight-of-10 field goals, along with three-of-three free throws and a game-leading nine rebounds.  Danielius Jurgutis had 13 points on five-of-seven shooting, and Tayvian Johnson chipped in 10 points with eight rebounds and three assists.  Mike Stevenson (So., Burlington, Wis./Wilmot-Union) was the lone Carthage player in double figures with 11 points on five-of-nine field goals.  Carthage's Reese Herth (Sr., Morton Grove, Ill./Skokie-Niles West), the Red Men's leading scorers with a 13.2 points-per-game average, has also left the team.

"Augustana is so good," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic.  "The years change, the faces change, but their system stays the same.  They do a wonderful job of doing what they want to do.  They rebound relentlessly, and they share the ball offensively.  I wouldn't say they're the most-talented team I've seen in the CCIW, but I don't know if I've seen a team that plays better or harder together.  We had a good game plan, and we got off to a good start, but let's face it, our scout team is not Augustana.  Our transition defense was non-existent, and we gave them every opportunity to come down the floor with advantage.  We're also not strong enough, offensively, to play a team like this.  This group is not capable of taking a 10-2 hit or something like that and bounce back.  If we're going to compete, we're going to have to make adjustments."

Carthage travels to Chicago on Wednesday, Jan. 7 to play North Park University (8-3, 0-1 CCIW) in a 7 p.m. game at the North Park Gymnasium.