The Carthage College men's basketball team (7-15, 3-9 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) lost its seventh-straight game on Wednesday, Feb. 11, falling to CCIW-opponent and No. 36 North Central College (17-4, 7-5 CCIW), 65-61, at Merner Fieldhouse/Gregory Arena in Naperville, Ill.  With the loss, Carthage was eliminated from qualifying for the CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament.

The Red Men led by a point at halftime, 27-26, and the game was tied, 34-34, at 16:01 second period.  The Cardinals took the lead, for good, 36-34, at 15:38 on a jumper by Erwin Henry.  North Central built its lead to as much as nine points, 43-34, at 11:42 and 45-36 at 10:32.  Carthage tied the game, 57-57, at 3:01.  The Red Men were down by just two points, 61-59, with 37 seconds to go, but the Cardinals clinched the game at the free-throw line in the final seconds to the 65-61 margin.

North Central shot 45 percent (19-42), including zero-of-four three-pointers, while Carthage shot 42 percent (25-60), including seven-of-25 three-pointers  The Cardinals got to the free-throw line 30 times and made 27, while the Red Men got to the line only eight times and made four.  North Central won the rebounding battle by a 34-27 margin.

Jack Burchette led North Central with a game-high 26 points on seven-of-11 field goals, along with 12-of-14 free throws and nine rebounds.  Brandon White added 10 points and eight boards.  Mike Kjeldsen (So., Bloomingdale, Ill./Lombard-Glenbard East) was the lone Carthage player in double figures with 11 points.

The Red Men play host to conference-opponent Wheaton College (Ill., 11-12, 4-8) on Saturday, Feb. 14 in a 7 p.m. game at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.