Another big first-half deficit.  Another ferocious second-half comeback, but this one fell just a little short, as the Carthage College men's basketball team (8-11, 2-6 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) came up on the wrong end of a 93-86 overtime game against North Park University (13-6, 5-3 CCIW) on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at the North Park Gym in Chicago.  The Red Men, who trailed by 20 points late in the first half, came back to take two brief leads in the second period before forcing an overtime session.  "I can't remember too many losses that hurt as much as this one," admitted Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic after the game.

Carthage fell behind again in the early going and trailed North Park 8-0 before getting on the board at 16:07.  The Vikings upped their lead to 15 points, 26-11, at 9:10 following a three-pointer by Ray Rubio.  A three-pointer by Juwan Henry at 6:47, followed by a Henry layup at 6:27 made it a 20-point game, 36-16.  The Red Men got back to 13 points, 38-25, at 4:23, but North Park led by 14 points at halftime, 44-30.  Juwan Henry, who entered the game as the leading scorer in the CCIW with a 23.1 per-game average, scored 20 points in the first period on seven-of-14 field goals and four-of-four free throws. 

Carthage opened the second half with an 11-2 run that cut the lead to five points, 46-41, at 16:40.  The Red Men took their first lead of the game, 53-51, at 11:57 on a three-point play by Drew Joiner, capping a 23-7 Carthage run.  North Park switched to full-court press, which resulted in three-straight Carthage turnovers and the Vikings re-gaining the lead, 54-53, at 11:34. 

With Carthage trailing by just three, 65-62, the game turned with under five minutes to go with two-straight North Park steals, both resulting in breakaway layups by Henry.  The second of those put the Vikings up by nine, 71-62, at 4:28.  A Henry jumper at 3:13 put North Park up by 10 points, 75-65.  Brad Kruse banked in a three-pointer with 46 seconds left to make it 79-76.  North Park then turned it over under the basket, but Sean Valentine was unable to convert a layup that would have made it a one-point game.

With the Vikings leading by two, 80-78, Carthage stole the ball at mid-court, and Ellis Matthews drained a three-pointer with 18.6 seconds to go to give the Red Men an 81-80  lead.  Henry was fouled in the lane with 3.4 seconds on the clock.  He missed the first free throw but made the second to send the game into overtime tied at 81 each.  In the extra period, Henry connected on back-to-back three-pointers at 3:57 and 3:21 to put North Park up by four, 87-83.  The Vikings went on to win by seven points, 93-86.

North Park shot 44 percent (31-of-70), including six-of-26 three-pointers, while Carthage shot 46 percent (31-of-68), including eight-of-28 from three.  The Vikings got to free-throw line 32 times and made 25, while the Red Men converted 16-of-25.  Carthage out-rebounded North Park, 47-36, but the Red Men turned the ball over 22 times, with the Vikings picking up 15 steals.

Juwan Henry (Jr., Chicago, Ill./Bogan) was the only North Park player in double figures, but he was simply unstoppable.  Henry scored 47 points on 15-of-29 field goals, including four-of-nine from three-point range, along with 13-of-15 from the free-throw line.  Henry's 47 points were the most by a Carthage opponent since North Park's Jack Ecker scored 54 at the North Park Gym on Feb. 23, 1995.

Five Carthage players scored in double figures, with Brad Kruse (So., Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Lake Zurich) leading the way with career highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds.  Kruse connected on eight-of-11 from the floor.  Mike Stevenson (Jr., Burlington, Wis./Wilmot-Union) scored 16 points and Sean Valentine (Sr., Cary, Ill./Crystal Lake-Prairie Ridge) 12, with Kiston Lee (Sr., Decatur, Ill./MacArthur) and Ellis Matthews (Sr., Libertyville, Ill.) each adding 11 points.

"We competed to the 'nth,' and we gave ourselves a chance to win," said Djurickovic.  "We were a little unlucky at the end of regulation, and we just didn't make enough plays in overtime.  Juwan Henry made two 35-foot shots in overtime.  He already had 40 points, so you would think, at that point, you'd have to do a better job of guarding him.  He's a wonderful scorer, and he made the plays in overtime that had to be made.  To score 47 points is pretty-special stuff.  For us, it was a very, very disappointing outcome.  All we can do is to get ready for Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday, and it's going to be hard to get back to practice after this one."

Carthage plays host to Illinois Wesleyan University (10-9, 4-4 CCIW) on Saturday, Jan. 30 in a 7 p.m. game at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.  The Titans played were a 75-65 winner over Wheaton College (Ill.) on Wednesday night.