Box Score Carthage 80, Illinois Wesleyan 55 - Box Score, Jan. 30

KENOSHA, Wis. - The Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team fell out of first place in the conference with an 80-55 loss to Carthage in Kenosha, Wis., on Jan. 30.

The Titans are 15-4 overall and fell to 6-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while the Red Men improved to 7-1, good for first place in the CCIW, and 15-4 overall. The Titans handed Carthage a 79-69 loss on Jan. 9 at the Shirk Center.

Junior Sean Johnson had 25 points and was the sole Titan in double figure scoring. The Titans shot 39 percent from the field (19 of 49) and connected on only three of 18 3-point fielders (.167).

Illinois Wesleyan went out to a 3-0 lead on a trey by Travis Rosenkranz in the opening minute but Carthage reeled off 15 straight points and never looked back, leading by a 44-24 score at intermission. The Red Men shot a blistering 61 percent from the floor (17 of 28) in the first 20 minutes and committed only two turnovers. On the other side, IWU shot eight of 24 (.333) in the first half from the field.

IWU closed to within 13 at 62-49 with 7:55 to play in the game but two 3-pointers by Carthage built the lead back to 19 at 68-49 and they were never headed,

Carthage, who outrebounded IWU 34-26, finished at 55 percent from the field (26 of 47) and made 53 percent of their 3-pointers (10 of 19). The Red Men had five players in double figures, led by Tyler Pierce with 19 and Steve Djurickovic with 18 points and 10 assists.

The Titans will face North Central at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at the Shirk Center. IWU beat the Cardinals, 84-79, on Jan. 6.