WAUKESHA, Wis. - Carroll men's basketball hosted in-state for Carthage on Wednesday night, falling to the Firebirds by a score of 84-75. There were six ties and five lead changes in the back-and-forth, high level battle. The Pioneers doubled the Firebirds efforts on the offensive glass, corralling 14 o-boards to Carthage's seven. Carroll (6-14, 2-9 CCIW) saw their losing skid extend to five games, while Carthage (15-5, 9-2 CCIW) earned their eighth victory in the last nine contests.
The game's leading scorer was Carthage sophomore Riley Brooks, who scored 21 points in 34 minutes of play. The Pioneers were led in scoring by senior Kobe SImpson, who added 15 points to his season total. Three other Pioneers scored in double figures, including fellow seniors Erik Victorson and Eckahelo Simpson. Victorson scored 14 points and added 2 more longballs to his historic season, while Eckahelo contributed 12 points of his own, all of which came in the first half. Simpson paired that with eight rebounds to pace the Pios on the glass. The final double-digit scorer for Carroll was junior forward Jacob Naber, who tallied 11 points inside.
Both teams made runs throughout the first half, which was fueled on the offensive end as both teams had their offensive gameplans firing on all cylidners. At the midway point, both teams were on pace to score more than 45 points each in the first half. Carthage closed out the final 8 minutes outscoring the Pioneers by an 11 point margin, as the Pios took a 47-41 deficit into the locker room.
The Firebirds came out of the break by piecing together a 7-2 run to give the Firebirds their largest lead of the contest. Undaunted, Carroll responded by coming up with stops on the defensive end to slowly but surely chip into the deficit. With under nine minutes to play, the Pioneers looked inside, as five points from Naber and two more from both Kobe and Victorson gave Carroll their first lead in 24 minutes of gameplay, a 70-69 lead with 3:56 remaining. A lid fell over the basket for Carroll suddenly, as Carthage made crucial baskets and free throws to outscore the Pioneers 15-5 and close the game out, as the final buzzer sounded with the Pioneers falling 84-75.
Carroll looks to rebound on Saturday, February 8, where they hit the road to take on Wheaton College (IL). Tip-off in Wheaton, Ill. Is scheduled for 7:15 p.m..
