Is there a break in the schedule? The Carthage College men's basketball team (7-10, 1-5 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) played its third-straight game against a top-25 team on Wednesday, Jan. 20 but came away a 97-68 loser to No. 25 North Central College (12-5, 5-1 CCIW) at Merner Fieldhouse/Gregory Arena in Naperville, Ill. The Red Men lost to No. 2 Elmhurst, 78-58, on Jan. 13 before falling to No. 3 Augustana College (Ill.), 71-63, on Jan. 16.
The loss to North Central extended Carthage's losing streak to five games following its league-opening win over Millikin University on Jan. 2. The North Central contest was also the first-of-three CCIW road games for the Red Men.
The Cardinals opened a quick, 11-2 lead at 15:45, as the Red Men missed eight of its first nine field-goal attempts. North Central extended its lead to 21 points, 32-11, at 7:36. A pair of free throws by Connor Raridon at 1:43 upped the Cardinals' lead to 24 points, 45-21. North Central, aided by 53 percent shooting (19-of-36) led by 24 point at halftime, 47-23. Carthage connected on just eight-of-34 for 24 percent in the first period.
The Red Men cut the lead to 20 points early in the second half, but a four-point play by Jayme Moten at 16:42 upped the North Central margin to 27 points, 59-32. The Cardinals made it 28 points, 63-35, at 15:36, before back-to-back three-pointers by Jordon Kedrowski cut the lead to 21 points, 63-41, at 15:11. North Central padded its lead to 32 points, 82-50, at 7:46 on a three-pointer by Kevin Honn. Back-to-back field goals by Honn gave the Cardinals a 35-point bulge, 90-55, at 5:31. North Central went on to win by 29 points, 97-68.
North Central shot 52 percent (39-of-75), including nine-of-22 three-pointers, while Carthage shot just 38 percent (25-of-66), including eight-of-25 from three. The Cardinals connected on a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line, while the Red Men made 10-of-15. North Central had a commanding, 51-28 rebounding edge, including an 18-10 edge on the offensive boards.
North Central's Alex Sorenson scored a game-high 27 points on 12-of-14 field goals, including three-of-four three-pointers, along with a game-high 13 rebounds. Connor Raridon scored 17 points on six-of-11 shooting, along with five-of-free throws and six assists, while Jaquan Phipps came off the bench to add 15 points on seven-of-nine field goals, along with seven boards. Jordon Kedrowski (Fr., Bolingbrook, Ill./Downers Grove-North) led Carthage with 16 points on six-of-14 field goals, including four-of-seven from three-point range. Drew Joiner (Fr., Centennial, Colo./Grandview) came off the bench to add 10 points on four-of-eight shooting.
"We're just not able to sustain anything," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic, "and that's a real problem. We played well against some really good teams like Benedictine and Augustana, but we came flat out tonight and didn't have the same energy against a very good North Central team. We missed some easy shots early and let them get off to a comfortable start. It was very disappointing. We got out-rebounded 51-28, and they shot the ball very, very well."
Carthage travels to Wheaton, Ill., on Saturday night, Jan. 23 to take on Wheaton College (Ill., 5-12, 1-5 CCIW) in a 7 p.m. game at King Arena. The Thunder were an 87-76 winner over Millikin on Wednesday night. "Wheaton is in the same boat we are," said Djurickovic. "They're scuffling. Like us, they've had a difficult time closing out games."