WAUKESHA, Wis. - The road to a conference tournament berth can often be a humbling, nervewracking experience.
The Carroll University men's basketball team learned that valuable lesson as it lost to Carthage College 69-60 in a physical, hard-fought College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Van Male Field House on Wednesday evening.
The disappointing setback in front of a large crowd on Waukesha Youth Night  was the second home-court conference loss of the season for Carroll, which fell to 5-4 in conference and 10-8 overall.
The Pioneers, who entered the contest riding the momentum created from winning back-to-back league games and four of their last five (highlighted by an upset victory over No. 27-ranked Illinois Wesleyan last weekend) dropped into a tie for third place with Carthage in the league standings.
Carroll led 49-48 with 8:50 remaining but couldn't sustain the momentum as it yielded eight unanswered points over a critical three-minute stretch.
The Pioneers trimmed the deficit to four points four times within the final five minutes but struggled to complete the comeback.
Following a 3-pointer by senior guard Kyle Keranen (Hartland, Wis.) to trim the deficit to 61-57 with 3:20 left, Carthage responded with a gritty, pressure-packed 8-3 run to seal a victory.
Senior guard Mike Stevenson converted a shot-clock buzzer-beating 3-pointer with 2:43 left to ignite the run for the Redmen, who made five 3-pointers, 8 of 12 free throws (including 4 of 4 within the final two minutes) and shot 48.3 percent from field-goal range.
Keranen (Hartland, Wis.) and sophomore point guard Ben Widdes (Rice Lake, Wis.) each scored a team-high 14 points to lead Carroll, which made 10 baskets from 3-point range and shot 40.7 percent from the field. 
"Obviously, it's always difficult to lose at home but it wasn't from a lack of effort," said Keranen, who had six points in the second half. "Coming off of two big victories to put ourselves right in the thick of the conference race, we realize that teams are going to be bringing their best to the court so we need to be at the top our game.
"Collectively, we just need to play our best basketball each time we step on the floor, make the necessary adjustments and be ready to get after it against Millikin this weekend."
Junior guard/forward Tanner Zaeske (South Milwaukee, Wis.) followed with 12 points and sophomore guard Ray Pierce (Milwaukee, Wis.) added seven points for the Pioneers.
Pierce was a heavy contributor in the final minutes, scoring five points within the final four minutes, highlighted by a slashing layup to cut the lead to 63-59 with 1:39 remaining.
"Carthage came out strong from the get-go, played with a lot of poise and demonstrated their toughness," said Carroll fourth-year head coach Paul Combs, whose team split the regular-season series with the Redmen. 
"There's a reason they've won against three of the best teams in NCAA Division III (referring to victories at North Park, North Central and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh) so they deserve a lot of credit in the way they came on the road and competed tonight.
"Once again our effort was exceptional. Unfortunately, we just had some issues with our execution down the stretch. We're young so the only way to improve is to go through some of the heartbreaks and continue to grow with each experience. Hopefully, this will only make us stronger and help in our progression. It's not a one-game season so we just have to be ready to fight and face the next challenge head-on."
Freshman 6-foot-11 center Brad Perry contributed 13 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots for Carthage, which improved to 5-4 in conference and 12-6 overall.
The Redmen outrebounded Carroll 38-29, maintaining a key 27-22 advantage on the defensive glass.

PIONEER FAST FACTS
What: The Carroll University men's basketball team lost to Carthage College 69-60 in a College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Van Male Field House on Wednesday evening.
Record: 5-4 in conference, 10-8 overall
Scoring Leaders: Kyle Keranen (14 points), Ben Widdes (14 points), Tanner Zaeske (12 points), Ray Pierce (7 points)
Notable: It was the second home-court loss of the season for the Pioneers, who had a 49-48 lead with 8:50 remaining but yielded eight unanswered points over a critical three minute stretch