After a week off for Thanksgiving, the Carthage College men's basketball team (4-1, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) won its third-straight game, all on the road, on Tuesday, Dec. 1 with an 87-77 decision over the Illinois Institute of Technology (0-6) at the Keating Sports Center in Chicago.
Carthage broke a 13-13 first-half tie with a 12-4 run that put the Red Men up by eight points, 25-17, at 8:32. After the Scarlet Hawks got it back to four points, 25-21, the Red Men closed out the half with a 23-8 run to take a commanding, 19-point lead at halftime, 48-29. Jordan Kedrowski scored eight, Leazer six and Sean Valentine six points in the run that ended the first half. Carthage shot a blistering 66 percent in the first half (19-29), including seven-of-12 from three-point range.
Carthage was still leading by 17 points, 61-44, at 12:38 second period, before Illinois Tech whittled the lead down to nine points, 66-57, at 8:15, to eight, 68-60, at 5:55 and to five points, 70-65, at 4:43. Illinois Tech was still trailing by five, 75-70, when Valentine drained a three-pointer from the right corner to put Carthage up by eight, 78-70, at 2:09. The Red Men went on to win by 10 points, 87-77.
Carthage shot 59 percent (31-53), including nine-of-21 from three-point range, while Illinois Tech shot 43 percent (28-of-65), including four-of-11 three-pointers. The Red Men got to the free-throw line 21 times and made 16, while the Scarlet Hawks converted 17-of-22. Carthage out-rebounded Illinois Tech, 34-28. Jordon Kedrowski (Fr., Bolingbrook Ill./Downers Grove-North) led Carthage with 20 points on seven-of-12 field goals, including four-of-eight three-pointers. Mike Leazer (Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Northridge Prep) came off the bench to score 13 points with four assists, while Kevin Kozil (Sr., Prospect Heights, Ill./Arlington Heights-Hersey) added 10 points off the bench.
Four Illinois Tech players scored in double figures, with Sam Rarick leading the way with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Anthony Mosley had 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Parker Joncus 12 points and Jake Digorgio 10 points.
"We couldn't have played better the last 12 minutes of the first half," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic, "but I wouldn't give you a nickel for the way we played in the second half. It's all about execution, making plays and the ability to guard people. We're 4-1, and that's pretty good, and we continue to do well on the road. When we play the way we should, we're a pretty good basketball team. We did a good job of team rebounding tonight, and we had some good individual efforts. I've been trying to get playing time for everyone, but spring training ends this weekend with Calvin and Hope and Wisconsin-Oshkosh next week. We're making progress—I'm not unhappy at this point."
This weekend, Carthage travels to Holland, Mich., to play in the Friday-Saturday, Dec. 4-5 Midwest Challenge at Hope College's DeVos Fieldhouse. The Red Men take on Calvin College (2-3) on Friday at 6 p.m., EST, followed by a 3 p.m., EST contest versus No. 5 Hope College on Saturday. Wheaton College (Ill.) is the fourth team in the tournament, and the Thunder take on Hope (3-1) in Friday's second game, beginning at 8 p.m., EST. Wheaton (Ill., 3-1) plays host to the University of Chicago on Wednesday.
The Midwest Challenge, formerly known as the CCIW-MIAA Challenge, was first played in December 2004 and comes to an end this year after as 12-year run. Wheaton (Ill.) played host to the inaugural men's tournament in 2004, along with the 2008 and 2012 events. Hope played host to the 2005, 2009 and 2015 tournaments, Carthage to the 2006, 2010 and 2014 events and Calvin to the 2007, 2011 and 2014 tournaments. Wheaton (Ill.) leads the tournament standings with a 14-8 record, followed by Hope at 12-10, Carthage at 10-12 and Calvin with an 8-14 mark.
Kevin VandeStreek (361-149, 21 years at Calvin/476-236, 27 years overall thru Dec. 3) coaches the Calvin College Knights, who lost a pair of games at last weekend's Cornerstone University "Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame Classic." Jordan Daley (Sr., Grand Rapids, Mich./Christian) leads Calvin with an 18.4 scoring average, along with a 6.2 rebounding mark.
Greg Mitchell (21-10, 2 years thru Dec. 2) coaches the Hope College Dutchmen, who lost to Cornerstone, 73-67, in last Saturday's "Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame Classic" title game. Harrison Blackledge (Jr., Canton, Ohio/Hoover) leads Hope with a 14.0 scoring mark. The Red Men are coached by Bosko Djurickovic (507-264, 30 years/311-185, 20 years at Carthage thru Dec. 3).