Max Cary’s layup just before the final buzzer allowed the Carthage men’s basketball team to escape with a 90-88 non-conference victory over Calumet College of St. Joseph on Saturday night at the Recreation Athletic Facility in Whiting, Ind.

Calumet’s Antonio Hurt made a 3-pointer to tie it at 88-88 with 7.6 seconds remaining. But instead of calling a timeout, Carthage’s Malcom Kelly collected the ball and passed it upcourt to Steve Djurickovic, who passed to a wide-open Cary in the lane for the game-winning basket.

“In the long run, good teams have to find a way to win games like this,” Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic said. “I don’t think we would have won this game last year. We persevered and got the job done tonight, but we need to play better.”

23 for Djurickovic

Djurickovic, who picked up his fourth foul with 9 minutes left and returned with Carthage (7-2) trailing by five with 6 minutes left, led the Red Men with 23 points. Tyler Pierce scored 22, Cary and Raul Guzman each tallied 13 and Mitch Thompson added 12.

“Mitch Thompson and Tyler Pierce were dynamite tonight,” Bosko Djurickovic said.

Keith Dean hit four 3-pointers and 6-of-6 free throws in leading Calumet (6-11) with 34 points, and Hurt added 24 points.

Carthage, ranked No. 23 in the latest D3hoops.com poll, will have a two-week break before concluding its non-conference schedule Jan. 2-3 in the “Wilkes-Barre Challenge” at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.