In Carthage’s loss to California Lutheran, the Redmen jumped out to a 15-5 lead at 13:49 before the Kingsmen used a 13-2 run to take an 18-17 lead at 8:23. California Lutheran opened up a seven point lead late in the first half and led by six points, 27-21, at the break. Carthage re-gained the lead, 30-29, at 15:11 second period, and the two teams traded leads the rest of the second half. The Kingsmen had another seven-point lead, 51-44, at 4:26 and led by five, 58-53, with 58 seconds to play in regulation. A layup by Carthage’s Keena Johnson with 32 seconds remaining cut the lead to 58-55, and a three-pointer by Trevor Cockayne at 11 seconds tied the game at 58-58 after regulation. Carthage took its last lead, 63-62, at 1:41 in overtime. A pair of free throws by Kevin Menard with 17 seconds to go tied the contest at 66-66, but California Lutheran’s Ryan Hodges drained a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining to give the Kingsmen their 68-66 victory margin. Carthage shot just 36 percent (25-69), while California Lutheran shot 39 percent (26-67). Four Carthage players scored in double figures. Keena Johnson had 12 points with eight rebounds and six assists, while Mark Morrison also had 12 points. Malik Imani had 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Kevin Menard added 10 points and five boards. Ryan Hodges, the tournament MVP, topped the Kingsmen with a game-high 19 points, along with nine rebounds. Carthage’s Keena Johnson and Mark Morrison were named to the all-tournament team. The California Lutheran game closed out the Redmen’s non-conference schedule. Carthage opens its CCIW schedule on Wednesday, January 5 (7:30 p.m.) by traveling to Elmhurst, Ill., to take on Elmhurst College at R.A. Faganel Hall. The Bluejays bring a 7-3 mark into a Monday, January 3 home contest versus Greenville College before entertaining the Redmen on Wednesday.
Newspaper Box Score Carthage vs California Lutheran 12-30-04 8 p.m. at Thousand Oaks, Calif. (CLU Gym) At Thousand Oaks, Calif. (CLU Gym) CALIFORNIA LUTHERAN 68, CARTHAGE 66 CARTHAGE (6-5) Johnson, Keena 5-7 2-5 12; Morrison, Mark 4-15 2-4 12; Imani, Malik 4-11 1-4 10; Menard, Kevin 3-12 3-4 10; Jeffery, Kyle 3-10 0-0 7; Hood, Scott 2-5 1-2 6; Schlemm, Brian 2-6 0-0 4; Cockayne, Trevor 1-1 0-0 3; Thompson, Navarro 1-2 0-0 2; Nolen, Chris 0-0 0-0 0; Day, Dan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-69 9-19 66. CALIFORNIA LUTHERAN (7-2) Ryan Hodges 7-19 5-5 19; Alex Minney 6-16 2-4 14; Sergei Lepiashinski 4-7 0-1 10; Matt Adame 2-6 2-3 7; Matt McCann 2-3 1-1 5; Ron Russ 2-4 0-0 5; Deshion Inniss 2-3 0-1 4; Brandon Bush 0-7 2-2 2; Rocky Pedden 1-2 0-0 2; Adam Segal 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-67 12-17 68. Carthage...................... 21 37 8 - 66 California Lutheran........... 27 31 10 - 68 3-point goals-Carthage 7-29 (Morrison, Mark 2-6; Jeffery, Kyle 1-4; Menard, Kevin 1-6; Cockayne, Trevor 1-1; Imani, Malik 1-5; Hood, Scott 1-2; Thompson, Navarro 0-1; Schlemm, Brian 0-2; Johnson, Keena 0-2), California Lutheran 4-15 (Sergei Lepiashinski 2-3; Ron Russ 1-1; Matt Adame 1-3; Deshion Inniss 0-1; Brandon Bush 0-3; Alex Minney 0-4). Fouled out--Carthage-Jeffery, Kyle, California Lutheran-Alex Minney. Rebounds-Carthage 47 (Imani, Malik 12), California Lutheran 48 (Ryan Hodges 9). Assists-Carthage 15 (Johnson, Keena 6), California Lutheran 13 (Matt Adame 3; Deshion Inniss 3; Brandon Bush 3). Total fouls-Carthage 20, California Lutheran 21. A-200 California Lutheran "Thrivent Financial Tournament" championship