The Carthage College men's basketball team (9-15, 3-10 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) closed out its 2016 home schedule on Saturday, Feb. 13 with a 76-51 win over Wheaton College (Ill., 5-19, 1-12 CCIW) at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Red Men, who had also lost nine of their last 10 games.
Carthage jumped out to a 19-point lead midway thru the first half, 25-6, at 10:08. The Red Men proceeded to go scoreless for the next six minutes, as the Thunder used a 15-0 run to pull to within four points, 25-21, at 3:43. Carthage then took off on a 10-1 run to close out the period with a 13-point lead, 35-22. Wheaton shot just 23 percent in the period (6-of-26), including one-of-10 from three-point range. The Red Men extended their lead to 22 points in the second half, 49-27, at 15:23 and to 28 points, 65-37, at 5:37. Carthage went to an easy, 25-point win, 76-51.
Carthage shot 47 percent (26-of-55), including seven-of-21 three-pointers, while Wheaton managed to shoot only 30 percent (17-of-56), including just three-of-22 from three-point range. The Red Men got to free-throw line 25 times and made 17, while the Thunder connected on 14-of-21. The rebounds were even at 37 for each team.
Three Carthage players scored in double figures, with Sean Valentine (Sr., Cary, Ill./Crystal Lake-Prairie Ridge) leading the way with a game-high 18 points on five-of-seven field goals, along with seven-of-nine free throws and five rebounds. Myles Olsen (Sr., East Troy, Wis.) scored 11 points on four-of-10 shooting, including three-of-seven threes, and Kiston Lee (Sr., Decatur, Ill./MacArthur) also had 11 points on four-of-seven from the floor, along with eight rebounds. Brad Kruse (So., Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Lake Zurich) had eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Trae Masten led Wheaton with seven points.
Carthage ends the season next Saturday, Feb. 20 with a 7 p.m. game versus Millikin University (9-15, 3-10 CCIW) at the Griswold Physical Education Center in Decatur, Ill. The Big Blue were a 77-52 loser at No. 1 Augustana College (Ill.) on Saturday.
"I give our seniors all the credit in the world," said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic. "This has not been the kind of season they hoped for, but they played a quality game tonight. Except for a lull in the first half, I thought we played exceptionally well, and the seniors were a hug part of that. The last four or five minutes of the first half was the key to this one. Just before that, we played poorly on the defensive end and couldn't buy a basket. We finished the half very well and had a 13-point lead at halftime. We all know this has been a disappointing season, but we also know that we have some quality people coming back next year. The senior-laden teams in this league won't have their seniors next year, so it'll be interesting. I think we'll be in a position next year to take a step forward."