Contact:
Steve Marovich, Sports Information Director (262) 551-5740
E-Mail: stevemarovich@tds.net or carthagesid@carthage.edu
Carthage Web Page: http://athletics.carthage.edu/index.aspx
Carthage 24-Hour Sports Hotline (262) 551-5388
Men’s Basketball Upsets No. 19 Wheaton (Ill.), 69-67, on Feb. 7;
Red Men Play Host to No. 26 Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday
This Week: The Carthage College men’s basketball team (12-10, 6-5 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) upset CCIW-opponent and No. 19 Wheaton College (Ill., 17-5, 8-3 CCIW), 69-67, on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. On Saturday, Feb. 15, Carthage entertains conference-opponent and No. 26 Illinois Wesleyan University (16-6, 7-4 CCIW) in a 7:30 p.m. contest, also at Tarble Arena.
Last Week: Carthage outlasted CCIW-opponent North Park University (5-15, 1-8 CCIW), 87-80, on Tuesday, Jan. 31 at the North Park Gymnasium in Chicago. On Saturday, Feb. 4, the Red Men defeated conference-opponent Millikin University (1-20, 0-10 CCIW), 82-49, at the Griswold Center in Decatur, Ill. The Millikin win left Carthage in fifth place in the CCIW one game behind fourth-place Augustana College (Ill., 16-5, 6-4 CCIW). The Vikings were a 43-41 loser to North Central College on Saturday night.
Next Week: Carthage travels to Elmhurst, Ill., on Tuesday, Feb. 14 to play CCIW-opponent Elmhurst College in a 7:30 p.m. game at R.A. Faganel Hall. On Saturday, Feb. 18, the Red Men wrap up their regular-season schedule by playing host to conference-opponent and No. 20 Augustana College (Ill.) in a 7:30 p.m. contest at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.
Looking at Illinois Wesleyan: Ron Rose (99-60, 6 years thru Feb. 10) coaches the Illinois Wesleyan University Titans, who went 20-9 last year (9-5, 3rd tie CCIW) before losing to Augustana College (Ill.), 76-52, in the title game of the CCIW Men’s Basketball Tournament. Illinois Wesleyan received an at-large berth in last year’s NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship. The Titans defeated Wisconsin-River Falls, 83-76, in a first-round game before bowing out to the University of St. Thomas (Minn.), 78-70, in a second-round contest. This year’s team, ranked 26th in the Feb. 7 “D3hoops.com” poll, brings a 16-6 mark (7-4 CCIW) into Saturday’s Carthage game after losing a Tuesday home-showdown with first-place North Central College, 80-73. Illinois Wesleyan leads the Carthage series, which dates to Feb. 13, 1926 game in Carthage, Ill., 87-25, but the Red Men have won six of the last 13 meetings. The Titans won this year’s earlier game, 69-61, on Jan. 14 at the Shirk Center.
Looking at Elmhurst: Mark Scherer (227-157, 15 years entering the season) coaches the Elmhurst College Bluejays, who went 8-17 last year (3-11, 7th CCIW). This year’s team brings an 11-11 mark (5-6 CCIW) into a Saturday game at Augustana College (Ill.). Carthage leads the Elmhurst series, which dates to a Feb. 5, 1942 game in at Goebel Hall on the Elmhurst campus, 78-49, and the Red Men have won five in a row over the Bluejays. Carthage won this year’s earlier game, 77-58, on Jan. 24 at R.A. Faganel Hall.
2011 CCIW Tournament: Carthage (16-9, 9-5 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) did not qualify for the 2011 CCIW Men’s Basketball Tournament thanks to Illinois Wesleyan University’s 70-68 win over Augustana College (Ill.) at the IWU Shirk Center in Bloomington, Ill, on Feb. 22. The Titans’ win over the Vikings elevated Illinois Wesleyan (18-7, 9-5) into a three-way tie for third place with both Carthage and Wheaton College (Ill.), each with 9-5 records. Based on the league’s tie-breakers, Wheaton (Ill.) earned the third seed based on its 3-1 composite record against Carthage and Illinois Wesleyan during the regular season. Illinois Wesleyan earned the fourth seed, instead of Carthage, based on the following tie-breaker: The Titans and Red Men split their season series, and both teams finished 1-1 against both first-place Augustana (Ill.) and second-place North Central (Ill.). Illinois Wesleyan finished 1-1 against third-place Wheaton (Ill.), while Carthage was 0-2 against the Thunder. The top-four teams qualify for the tournament.
The Illinois Wesleyan win also left Augustana (Ill.) and North Central (Ill.) as CCIW co-champions, each with 11-3 records. North Central (Ill.) gained the home court for the conference tournament based on the following tie-breaker: Both teams tied the season series at 1-1 and also finished with the same identical head-to-head records against each of the other six CCIW teams. The next tiebreaker, road record against conference schools, did not break the tie, as both teams were 5-2. The next tiebreaker, record in the last seven CCIW games, broke the tie, as North Central was 6-1, while Augustana (Ill.) was 4-3.
Second-seeded and No. 6 Augustana (Ill., 23-3, 11-3) defeated third-seeded Wheaton College (Ill., 18-8, 9-5), 73-58, in a Friday, Feb. 25 semifinal game at Merner Fieldhouse/Gregory Arena in Naperville, Ill., with fourth-seeded Illinois Wesleyan (19-7, 9-5) getting by top-seeded and No. 37 North Central College (15-11, 11-3), 69-57, in the other semifinal game. Augustana (Ill., 24-3) won the Saturday, Feb. 26 tournament-championship game, 76-52, over Illinois Wesleyan (19-8).
2011 NCAA Division III Championship: With the CCIW’s automatic qualifier in hand, conference co-champion Augustana College (Ill.) played host to first and second-round games in the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship at Roy J. Carver Center in Rock Island, Ill. No. 7 Augustana (Ill., 25-3) bombed Webster University (20-7). 76-51, on March 4 in a first-round game, with No. 26 Hope College (23-6) edging No. 39 Hanover College (19-8), 73-70. Augustana (Ill., 26-3) outlasted Hope (23-7), 88-80 in overtime, in a March 5 second-round game. Illinois Wesleyan, the runner-up at the CCIW Men’s Basketball Tournament, received an at-large berth to the championship and was shipped to the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) in St. Paul, Minn. The No. 34 Titans (20-8) defeated No. 22 Wisconsin-River Falls (20-8), 82-76, in a first-round contest on March 4 with No. 8 St. Thomas (Minn., 25-3) winning over Northwestern College (21-7) by a 70-60 margin. Illinois Wesleyan (20-9) fell to St. Thomas (Minn., 26-3), 78-70, in a March 5 second-round game. Augustana (Ill., 27-3) won a sectional-semifinal game on March 11, 70-57, over the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (23-8) its own at Roy J. Carver Center in Rock Island, Ill. St. Thomas (Minn., 27-3) eliminated defending-national-champion Wisconsin-Stevens Point (26-4), 66-64, in the other sectional-semifinal game. Augustana (Ill., 27-4) fell to St. Thomas (Minn., 28-3), 72-56, in the March 12 sectional-championship game.
The Coach: Head coach Bosko Djurickovic is in his 16th season at Carthage in 2011-12 and his 26th overall. His 26-year record stands at 465-222 (269-143 in 16 years at Carthage, 196-79 in 10 years at North Park thru Feb. 6), an overall winning percentage of .677. His 453 career wins starting the 2011-12 season placed him 16th among active NCAA Division III coaches, and his .681 career winning percentage (437-203) was ranked 29th. Djurickovic’s winning percentage at Carthage (.653) leads the school’s all-time list, and his 269 wins ranks him first all-time, ahead of Herbert “Hub” Wagner (170-107, 1928-43). Djurickovic’s winning percentage at Carthage (.661) leads the school’s all-time list, and his 259 wins ranks him first all-time, ahead of Herbert “Hub” Wagner (170-107, 1928-43). Djurickovic’s CCIW winning percentage entering the 2010-11 season (.670, 236-116) is the fifth-best in the 64-year history of the league, and his 236 wins placed him first among active conference coaches and second only to Illinois Wesleyan University’s Dennie Bridges on the all-time list. At North Park (1985-94), Djurickovic coached two NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship teams, one in 1985 and the other in 1987. His teams in the mid 1980s set an NCAA Division III record with 62 consecutive home wins from February 1984 to February 1988, and five of his players were named National Association of Basketball Coaches All-Americans. All 10 of his North Park teams were nationally ranked at some point in their seasons.
The Polls: Hope College (20-1, 15 first-place votes) was ranked first in the Feb. 7 “D3hoops.com” poll, followed by Middlebury College (20-1, 4 first-place votes) second, Virginia Wesleyan College (18-2, 4 first-place votes) third, Wisconsin-Whitewater (19-2, 1 first-place vote) fourth, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (20-1) fifth, Amherst College (20-2) sixth, Cabrini College (21-1) seventh, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (20-1) eighth, Whitworth University (18-3) ninth, Birmingham-Southern College (20-1) 10th, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College (19-1) 11th, Wisconsin-Stevens Point (18-4) 12th, the College of Wooster (18-3) 13th Franklin & Marshall College (19-2) 14th and Transylvania University (19-2) ranked 15th. CCIW-member member Wheaton College (Ill., 17-4) was ranked 19th, conference-member Augustana College (Ill., 16-5) 20th, CCIW-member Illinois Wesleyan University (16-5) 26th and conference-member North Central College (15-6) tied for 36th place in the national poll.
Red Men on WLIP-AM: For the second-straight year, Carthage football and basketball will be broadcast on WLIP-AM Radio (1050) in Kenosha, Wis. Veteran Kenosha radio sports announcer John Weiser, "The Voice of the Red Men and the Lady Reds," will handle the play-by-play chores, with Tom Roders providing color commentary. Each broadcast begins 15 minutes prior to tipoff with the Red Men/Lady Reds Basketball Pre-Game Show. WLIP-AM, the home of Carthage football in the 1970s, will audio stream its broadcasts, and that stream will also continue to be available on the Carthage College web site at http://www.carthage.edu/ais/webcast/. Men’s basketball coach Bosko Djurickovic will be a weekly guest on the Bill Lawrence Show on WLIP throughout the season. Coach Djurickovic will be on the show every Friday morning at 6:20 a.m. In addition, Weiser will play host to a 15-minute Carthage sports show on Saturday basketball doubleheader game days, 45 minutes prior to the first game.
Live Video: All Carthage men’s basketball games at Tarble Arena feature live video steaming. A page of links to each event is available at http://live.carthage.edu. John Weiser's WLIP-AM feed is used as the audio. The live video streams are at http://www.carthage.edu/library/webcast/webcasting-stream-2/ . For now, virtually all of the streams are also featured at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/carthage-athletics
Home Court Advantage: Since Bosko Djurickovic took over head coaching duties in 1996, the Red Men compiled a 113-38 record (.748) over 12 seasons at the Carthage Physical Education Center and a 31-14 mark (.689) at the Tarble Arena, which opened on Jan. 5, 2009 with a 71-67 victory over Trinity International University (Ill.).
Non-Conference Success: Since Bosko Djurickovic took over head coaching duties in 1996, Carthage has a 121-53 non-conference record in the regular season (.695 thru Jan. 3).
Record Against Top-25 Teams: Since Bosko Djurickovic took over head coaching duties in 1996, Carthage has a 31-42 record against teams ranked in the top-25 of the “D3hoops.com” poll. Carthage has played the nation’s No. 1 team four times. The Red Men fell to CCIW-opponent Illinois Wesleyan University, 91-67, on Feb. 5, 2005 and 80-79 on Jan. 7, 2006. Carthage lost to top-ranked Wisconsin-Platteville, 74-48, on Dec. 29, 2008 at the St. Norbert College “Nicolet Bank Holiday Tournament” in De Pere, Wis. The Red Men edged No. 1 Wheaton College (Ill.), 55-54, on Jan. 21, 2009.
The Conference: Now in its 66th year as of 2011-12, the CCIW has sponsored men’s basketball as a championship sport since the conference began play in 1946-47. Illinois Wesleyan University has dominated the league over the years, winning or sharing 27 titles in 63 years. Augustana College (Ill.) has win 13 times, including three titles in a row since 2006. Millikin University and Wheaton College (Ill.) have claimed nine championships each, and North Park University was won six times. Carthage College has won five CCIW championships, winning outright titles in 2000, 2002 and 2010, with shared titles in both 1964 and 2003. North Central College has won four league championships, and Elmhurst College won its first-ever conference basketball title in 2001. In a pre-season poll released on Oct. 27, the CCIW men’s basketball coaches picked defending-champion Augustana College (Ill., 5 first-place votes, 47 points) to repeat in 2011-12, followed by North Central College (2 first-place votes, 42 points) second, Wheaton (Ill., 1 first-place vote, 39 points) third, Illinois Wesleyan (28 points) fourth, Carthage (27 points) fifth, North Park (18 points) sixth, Elmhurst (16 points) seventh and Millikin (seven points) eighth.
CCIW Player of the Week: Carthage College guard Malcom Kelly (Jr., Kenosha, Wis./Reuther) was named College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin “Men’s Basketball Player of the Week” on Feb. 6. Kelly scored a game-high 27 points on eight-of-14 shooting from the field, including four three-pointers, in an 87-80 win over North Park University on Jan. 31. He followed that up with a game-high 20 points, along with four rebounds and four steals, in an 82-49 win over Millikin University on Feb. 4.
CCIW Statistics: Carthage’s Malcom Kelly (Jr., Kenosha, Wis./Reuther) leads the CCIW in scoring (19.4 points per game thru Feb. 10), is ranked first in steals (1.86 per game), sixth in free-throw percentage (.824), sixth in minutes played (32.00 per game), seventh in three-point field-goal percentage (.420) and 14th in field-goal percentage (.475). Mitch Thompson (Jr., Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) is 16th in scoring (10.6 points per game), second in blocked shots (1.45 per game), tied for eighth place in rebounding (5.6 per game) and ranked 10th in field-goal percentage (.508). Max Cary (Sr., Geneva, Ill.) is 19h in scoring (9.7 points per game). Luke Johnson (Fr., Naperville, Ill./West Chicago-Wheaton Academy) is 21st in scoring (9.5 points per game), leads the league in blocked shots (2.86 per game) and is fifth in rebounding (6.6 per game). Donte Logan (Fr., Evanston, Ill./Skokie-Niles West) is fourth in assists (3.42 per game) and 10th in steals (1.32 per game). As a team, Carthage is ranked fourth in scoring offense (72.0 points per game), fifth in scoring defense (66.5 points per game), fifth in scoring margin (+5.5 points per game), sixth in free-throw percentage (.688), second in field-goal percentage (.472), sixth in three-point field-goal percentage (.355), tied for fifth place in rebounding margin (-0.3 per game), ranked first in blocked shots (6.18 per game) and fifth in home attendance (632 per game).
NCAA Statistics: Carthage is ranked third in NCAA Division III blocked shots (6.19 per game thru Feb. 5) behind Westfield State University (7.80 per game) and Lycoming University (6.24 per game).
Carthage in the NCAA Championship: Carthage’s made its fourth appearance in the national championship, all under coach Bosko Djurickovic, in 2010. The 2000 team lost to Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 74-62, in a second-round game at the Carthage Physical Education Center after receiving a first-round bye. The 2001 squad advanced to a sectional-championship game in Ada, Ohio before losing to Ohio Northern University, 66-64. The 2002 team finished third nationally, falling to Otterbein College, 70-66, in a semifinal game and defeating the University of Rochester, 72-51, in the consolation game for third place.
Feb. 4 Millikin Game Notes: With the loss, Millikin extended its CCIW-record losing streak to 30 games. The Big Blue has surpassed a league-record 26-game losing streak set by North Central College between 1978-79 and 1980-81.
Carthage broke out to an 11-point lead, 20-9, at 10:11. Millikin pulled to within four points, 20-16, at 6:13. Still leading by four, 22-18, at 5:38, the Red Men took off on a 9-0 run to take a 13 –point lead, 31-18, at 2:42. Carthage upped its lead to 16 points, 37-21, just as the first half concluded. The Red Men increased their lead to 23 points, 55-32, at 12:46 second half. Carthage led by as much as 38 points, 79-41, at 1:41 and at 82-44 at 1:08. The Red Men went on to win by 33 points, 82-49.
Carthage shot 48 percent (31-64), including 11-of-25 from three-point range, while Millikin shot 43 percent (21-49), including four-of-10 from three-point range. The Red Men converted nine-of-11 from the free-throw line, while the Big Blue went three-of-five. Carthage won the rebounding battle, 34-30, but Millikin turned the ball over 24 times to just 12 turnovers for the Red Men, who also collected 14 steals.
Three Carthage players scored in double figures. Malcom Kelly (Jr., Kenosha, Wis./Reuther) scored a game-high 20 points on seven-of-16 field goals, including four-of-nine three-pointers, along with two-of-two from the free-throw line, four rebounds and four steals. Mitch Thompson (Jr., Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) had 19 points, 16 in the first half, on seven-of-11 shooting, including one-of-two three pointers, along with four-of-five free throws. Donte Logan (Fr., Evanston, Ill./Skokie-Niles West) chipped in 13 points on five-of-five field goals, including three-of-three from three-point range. Luke Johnson (Fr., Naperville, Ill./West Chicago-Wheaton Academy) missed the game with an ankle sprain.
“Give Millikin credit,” said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic. “They played well, they played hard, and the crowd was good. Matt Nadelhoffer is a good coach, and they will get this thing turned around. We did what we needed to do and got ourselves moving forward toward what will hopefully be an exciting last two weeks. We continue to grow into the pressing defense, and it’s a style I like a lot. I spent some time before the season with former-St. Thomas (Minn.) coach Steve Fritz, who gave me some ideas about playing this style. I don’t know if this will be a long-term thing, but it’s good for what we have in the building right now. It’s a fun style to play, and I know the guys enjoy it. Mitch Thompson moved well inside tonight within the Millikin defense, and he made himself available. Donte Logan was outstanding, and I thought Marlon Senior played his best game in two years. The good news for the next weeks is that we have three home games against three quality teams that we know we can compete against. The bad news is that we have games left against quality teams that can compete with us. We have not shown yet that we can close the deal in close league games. That’s going to have to happen. With four games left, we have to leave everything we have on the floor, starting with Wheaton on Tuesday.”
Feb. 7 Wheaton (Ill.) Game Notes: The Red Men never trailed against the Thunder. Carthage jumped out to an 11-point lead, 19-8, at 12:45, and the Red Men maintained at least a nine-point lead throughout the first half. Carthage led by as much as 15 points, 31-16, at 3:06 and led by nine at the break, 31-22. The Thunder scored the last six points of the first half and the first basket of the second period to close to within seven, 31-24, at 19:42. Wheaton continued to close and pulled to within four, 32-28, at 17:45. Carthage went back up by 10 points, 41-31, at 15:01. The Thunder made it a three-point game, 43-40, at 11:19 before the Red Men went back up by 12, 61-49, at 5:38.
Then things got interesting. A 13-2 Wheaton run shaved the lead to one point, 65-64, with 16 seconds to play. A Tyler Peters three-pointer capped that Thunder rally. Following a Wheaton timeout, Carthage’s Kevin Sykes made two free throws to give the Red Men at 67-64 lead with 14 second left. Aaron Garriott scored on a layup for the Thunder with six seconds remaining to make a one-point game, 67-66. Malcom Kelly was fouled and converted two free throws for a 69-66 lead at five seconds. Garriott was fouled at the two-second mark. He made the first throw, deliberately missed the second, but Carthage rebounded and won the game by two points, 69-67.
Carthage shot 51 percent (23-45), including eight-of-13 from three-point range, while Wheaton also shot 51 percent (24-47), including six-of-11 from three-point range. The Red Men converted 15-of-18 from the free-throw line, while the Thunder went 13-of-21. Carthage won the rebounding battle, 29-23.
Three Carthage players scored in double figures. Malcom Kelly (Jr., Kenosha, Wis./Reuther) scored a game-high 25 points on seven-of-17 field goals, including four-of-eight three-pointers, along with seven-of-eight from the free-throw line. Mitch Thompson (Jr., Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) had 16 points on five-of-seven shooting, including two-of-two three pointers, along with four-of-six free throws, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Tyler Pierce (Jr., Westmont, Ill.) came off the bench to score 11 points on five-of-six shooting. Tim McCrary led the Thunder with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. Spencer Schultze and Aaron Garriott had 12 points each, Schultze with seven boards, and Tyler Peters chipped in 10 points.
“It was a great game,” said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic, “and we were due to win one of these. We’ve played a lot of good teams close, and this kind of finish was what we were looking for. The effort was good. The execution could have been better, and we were just so careless with the ball. Nick Bauch was really good, as was Kevin Sykes Jr. and Malcom Kelly. We did a good job defending Tim McCrary, who’s a really good basketball player and a warrior. Our guys knew what was at stake, and they treated the game accordingly. We still have a lot to play for, both this year and in the future.”