Game Notes: Carthage College @ North Central College (MBK: 2/1/14)

Final Score
Carthage 54, NCC 49

Game Summary
Filling in for the preoccupied Jim Godo, I was at the mic for the men's game as well. It was a very slow-starting game, with the Cardinals (10-10, 3-6) getting the first field goal two and a half minutes in, though the Redmen (14-6, 7-2) had picked up a free throw before that. The Cardinals had managed a couple decent leads for much of the first half, but the Redmen bounced right back and led by as many as seven. A late three by the Cardinals gave them a 28-27 lead to close out the first half. The Redmen came back out of the locker room strong though and retook the lead, building it up to as high as eight points with about ten minutes to go. The Cardinals came right back though and tied the game on a huge 3-point play with 3:17 left. Carthage took the lead back two possessions later and never looked back.

Key Stats

• NCC: 10-18 FT (55.6%). Must've been something in the water in Naperville tonight. The Cardinals aren't that great a free throw shooting team to begin with, especially in the cases of Landon Gamble (1-3 tonight, 62% on the season) and Jack Burchett (2-6 tonight, 50% on the season). These two big men are both very good at what they do, but their lack of free throw shooting is a major Achilles heel.
• Brandon Williams (NCC): 6-13 FG (1-4 3PT), 1-2 FT; 14 pts, 4 reb (3 ofr), 1 ast. Brandon had the best game probably for the Cardinals tonight. He looked really good early, hitting that go-ahead three right before the break. He had a few good looks at the basket all game long before fouling out near the end.
• Malcom Kelly (CAR): 5-9 FG (1-2 3PT), 5-7 FT; 16 pts, 7 reb (2 ofr), 1 stl. When I was preparing for this game, I had heard that Kelly was one of the best guys in the CCIW, and he showed it tonight. Even though he was a little shy of his average (just under 20 points a game), he found good shots when he needed them. The Cardinals had to keep a close eye on him at all times, and I thought they did a decent job, but the numbers are a testament to how good Kelly is.

CCIW Watch

• North Park (4-15, 1-7) @ Illinois Wesleyan (16-3, 6-2): POSTPONED.
• Elmhurst (12-7, 4-4) @ Millikin (7-12, 1-7): POSTPONED.
• Wheaton (14-6, 7-2) 76, @ Augustana (15-5, 5-4) 70

Final Thoughts
This is the first men's game I've gotten to see from beginning to end since the CCIW Championship Game in 2012, and we all know how that turned out. While I'm disappointed with how this game ended, it was nice to fill in for one of these again and watch this team, even if they're a year removed from glory.

Nostalgia aside... the officiating in this game was absolutely atrocious. Three Cardinals fouled out, including Gamble who on the play immediately before fouling out made a move where you could certainly argue for a foul. There was no consistency; the officials would call things at one end that they wouldn't at the other, or go from letting the guys play to suddenly whistling ticky-tack things away from the ball. It was absolutely horrible.

That said... this wasn't why the Cardinals lost. They struggled from the line, which didn't help, and they were outrebounded 37-27. The shots also stopped falling in the second half. The fact remains, this was a game the Cardinals probably should have won, but didn't. I keep wanting to come back to the refs with how bad they were tonight, but I can't pin this loss on them. It puts the Cardinals in a tough spot though, as it seems unlikely that they'll find their way back to the CCIW Tournament this year after 3 straight seasons as a top-two seed. Too many departures. Alas.