Waukesha, Wis. – The Carroll University men's basketball team won 81-80 in overtime against the Millikin University Big Blue. Carroll was looking to end their season sending their seniors Justin Gruber and Ethan Balinao out on top. The Pios did just that. The Pios shot 48.5% from the field. The high shooting percentage allowed for the Pioneers to get 16 assists on the night, led by Justin Steinike with four. 11 three-pointers help Carroll secure the win tonight. The Pios led by Kobe Simpson, who scored 19 points on the night. Aaron Wafford and Evan Bland each added 12 points.

The Pioneers (7-18, 4-12 CCIW) had a hot first half shooting 53.1% from the field. The game was fast paste, but Carroll was able to take care of the ball, turning it over just 12 times. Carroll was able to force 15 turnovers on the night.  Bland led the way with three steals and three other Pios added two steals of their own. The Carroll bench contributed 50 big points in the victory. The Pios battled on the boards as they secured 30 rebounds.

The two teams started the game by trading baskets. Carroll found themselves down 20-25 with 9:09 to go in the first half. Kobe would come down the floor and hit a three-pointer, sparking a 16-2 run by the Pios. Carroll looked to pull away as they were up nine, but a technical foul on the Pios would let Millikin get back into the game. With 3:28 left in the first half, Wafford would make a layup off a Paradiso offensive rebound to push the lead back to eight. Millikin would go on a run to make it a 41-38 game going into the half. Coming out of the half the two teams would trade baskets until a Kobe three pushed the lead to six with 17:28 left in the game. Millikin would respond, but Carroll found themselves up 10 after a Gruber three-pointer. As Carroll tried to put the game away, Millikin would fight back. Just three minutes found themselves tied 62-62 with 10:53 to go. Carroll responded and went on a 5-0 run on a Kobe layup and Steinike three-pointer. The two teams would battle, but with just 1:15 to go Millikin hit a pair of free throws to tie the game 72-72. Each team would both miss shots until Carroll found themselves on the offensive with only four seconds to go. Kobe tried to make a play, but would ultimately miss the game-winning attempt. In overtime, Millikin went on a 5-0 run to take their first lead since the nine-minute mark of the first half. Taylor Jannsen would use a timeout to regroup his squad. That's just what happened as out of the time out Bland would hit a three-point shot to put the Pios right back in the game. Down 75-77, Bland would come down, get a steal, and draw a foul on the fast break. He would go one for two from the line and leave the Pios down one. The two teams would trade baskets and find themselves tied with 1:03 to go. Millikin would miss a shot with 24 seconds left, and Kobe would grab an offensive rebound. Jannsen trusting his team chose not to use their final timeout and let players finish out the game. Kobe did just that as he attacked the rim and drew a shooting foul with 2 seconds left on the clock. He would make one of two to put the Pios up 81-80, and ultimately seal the game with that shot.

This will be the final game for the 2022-23 Carroll University men's basketball program. The team was challenged this year but ultimately turned it around winning three out of their last four CCIW games.