Kenosha, Wis. - The Illinois Tech men's basketball team began a string of three games over their next five days before the holiday break, starting with a non-conference matchup with Carthage College Friday night in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Scarlet Hawks hung close, but in the end the Firebirds held on for an 83-79 victory. The Scarlet Hawks dropped to 3-6 overall, while the Firebirds improved to 8-2.

Fouls and three-point shooting were the difference in the ball game. The Scarlet Hawks were whistled for 23 fouls to just 10 for the Firebirds. Although the Hawks converted on 9 of 12 free throw attempts, Carthage had almost double the attempts, converting on 19 of 25 free throws. The Firebirds also shot 42% from three-point range on 10 of 24 shooting, while the Hawks were 6 of 24 for 25%.

First Half (Carthage 35 - Illinois Tech 33)
Illinois Tech found themselves with a five-point lead almost six and a half minutes into the game, leading 16-11. Carthage chipped away at the Hawks' lead and then held serve, trailing the Hawks 28-27 with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. The Firebirds would then use an 8-5 run to take a 35-33 lead at the half. Garrison Carter led the Hawks with 7 first half points, while Dario Biaggie added 6 points.

Second Half (Carthage 48 - Illinois Tech 46)
After Carthage extended their lead to 47-40 in less than four minutes of second half play, the Scarlet Hawks pecked away at their deficit, ultimately tying the game on three separate occasions, the last at 52-52 courtesy of an Andrew Veon layup with 10:06 remaining. Carthage would respond, however, using a 15-7 run to take a 67-59 lead at the 5:32 mark. The Hawks used a 6-0 run to close within 2 points at 67-65 with 4:11 remaining, but they would not get any closer. Veon had 18 points in the second half for the Scarlet Hawks, with Desmond Price adding 10 points. 

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Andrew Veon led the Hawks with 22 points, while collecting 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks.
• Garrison Carter with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks.
• Caden Gigstad led in rebounds with 5, while adding 3 assists and one steal.
• Desmond Price with 10 points and 2 steals in just over 13 minutes of play.

Firebirds Watch

• Antuan Nesbitt led all scorers with 25 points and 7 assists, while adding 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal.
• Julian Campbell finished with 23 points and led with 8 rebounds.
• AJ Williams added 15 points, 5 assists and 2 steals.

Inside The Box Score

• Neither team went on a particularly long scoring run. The Scarlet Hawks best run was 6-0 with just over four minutes left in the second half. The Firebirds had an 8-0 run halfway through the first half.
• Despite coming out on the losing end, the Scarlet Hawks actually outperformed Carthage in points in the paint(32-22), fast break points(15-7), and bench scoring(26-13).

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will be back in action on Sunday, December 17th, when they travel to Greencastle, Indiana to take on DePauw at 2:00 PM in another non-conference matchup.