The Carthage College men's basketball team (8-15, 4-9 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) snapped a seven-game losing streak on Saturday, Feb. 14 with a 78-66 win over CCIW-opponent Wheaton College (Ill., 11-13, 4-9) at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.  The Red Men's last win was an 80-76 decision over Millikin University on Jan. 17.

Carthage jumped out to an 11-point lead, 18-7, at 12:27 first half.  The Red Men extended their margin to 14 points, 26-12, at 8:27, but the Thunder closed out the first half on a 27-15 run to pull to within two points at halftime, 41-39.  Wheaton took a 53-50 lead at 12:07 second half, but Carthage went up, to stay, 56-53, at 11:25 on a three-pointer by Ellis Matthews.  The Red Men pulled away at the end and wound up on the winning end of a 12 –point game, 78-66.

Carthage shot 47 percent (28-60), including 11-of-26 three-pointers, while Wheaton shot 40 percent (21-53), including 13-of-31 three-pointers  The Red Men got to the free-throw line 25 times and made just 11, while the Thunder were a perfect 11-of-11 from the free-throw line.  Carthage won the rebounding battle by a decisive, 45-26 margin.

Carthage's Ellis Matthews (Jr., Libertyville, Ill.) came off the bench to score a game-high and a career-high 21 points on seven-of-12 field goal, including five-of-six from three-point range, along with five rebounds.  Kiston Lee (Sr., Decatur, Ill./MacArthur) also came off the bench to score 16 points on six-of-10 shooting, along with four-of-seven free throws and a game-high nine rebounds.  Starter Mike Stevenson (So., Burlington, Wis./Wilmot-Union) added 12 points and five boards.  Brayden Teuscher led the Thunder with 20 points and six assists.

"It was a well-contested game," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic.  "Our guys showed some resilience and toughness.  We haven't out-rebounded anyone by 19 in a long time.  It was great for the seniors to have a game at home like this.  Kiston Lee was a warrior on the boards, as was Mike Stevenson.  I thought our offensive execution in the second half was as good as it's been all year long.  I'm proud of our guys for staying positive in a tough situation, one that I've never experienced before."

Carthage plays host to non-conference opponent Illinois Tech (2-20) on Tuesday, Feb. 17 in a 7 p.m. game, also at Tarble Arena.