Eureka's Kindred Scores 1,000th Career Point in 82-80 Win Over Monmouth
EUREKA, Ill. – Eureka College fifth-year guard Jordan Kindred (Chrisman, Ill./Chrisman H.S.) scored his 1,000th career point midway through the second half, hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 6.5 seconds remaining and swatted away Monmouth's potential game-tying layup as time expired, sending the Red Devils to an 82-80 non-conference victory over the Fighting Scots, Tuesday night at the Reagan Center. The decision marked Eureka's first victory over Monmouth since Feb. 24, 1976.
After Monmouth's Jon Calhoun successfully converted a 3-point play for an 80-79 lead with 17.5 seconds remaining, Eureka advanced the ball past half court without calling a timeout to run an offensive set. Eureka senior forward Dustin Fritsch (Sterling, Ill./Sterling H.S./Sauk Valley) eventually found Kindred, who pulled up and buried a 27-footer from straightaway for an 82-80 lead with 6.5 seconds left. With no timeouts remaining, the Scots frantically advanced the ball past half court and toward the goal, but Mike DeDecker's driving layup attempt was swatted away from behind by Kindred just before the final horn.
The two squads played a tight first half, tying five times and exchanging the lead on eight occasions. The Red Devils led by as many as six on three different occasions, including a 32-26 cushion on Fritsch's layup with 7:22 left in the half. Monmouth responded by scoring 17 of the final 22 points of the frame, and Brent Burrows's triple in the final minute gave the visitors a 43-37 cushion, their largest lead of the half that also stood up as the halftime score.
The Scots' lead swelled to double-digits, 49-39, on Nick Marema's layup with 16:59 left in the contest. The Red Devils answered with a 13-3 burst and forced a 52-52 deadlock when senior guard Rian Nailor (Rock Falls, Ill./Rock Falls H.S./Sauk Valley) scored inside at the 12:34 mark. The Red Devils eventually claimed their first lead since the 1:45 mark of the first half when senior reserve center D.T. Thornton (Normal, Ill./Normal West H.S./Carl Sandburg) scored for a 59-58 edge with 8:46 to play.
The Red Devils led by seven, 70-63, when Kindred scored his 1,000th career point on a 3-point play with 5:36 left. The lead moved to nine, 76-67, when Fritsch split two foul shots with 3:21 remaining. Monmouth slowly clawed back within a point, 77-76, when Wes DeClerq drilled a trey with 1:25 remaining. Marema later split two free throws to force a 77-77 tie with 46 seconds remaining before Fritsch regained a 79-77 lead for the hosts with two free throws with 28 ticks left. Calhoun's 3-point play and Kindred's dramatic late-game heroics followed.
Fritsch led the Red Devils with 18 points, one of four Red Devils to score in double-figures. Senior center Mark Lessen (Delavan, Ill./Delavan H.S.) and Kindred each had 17, while Nailor had 11.
Marema poured a game-high 23 points before fouling out in the final minute. Calhoun and Wes Dukeman added 13 points apiece. The Scots outrebounded the Red Devils, 32-31.
With the win, Eureka snapped a six-game losing streak in the all-time series with Monmouth, the Red Devils' first victory over the Scots since a 75-73 win in the Reagan Center on Feb. 24, 1976. Tuesday's win moved the Red Devils to 2-0 on the season for the first time since 1990-91 and also gave the Red Devils home-opening wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since November 2006.
The victory also proved to be a milestone for sixth-year head coach Chip Wilde, who won his 58th game at Eureka to move into sole possession of fourth place on Eureka's all-time men's basketball coaching wins list. Wilde now trails Eureka Hall of Famers Dave Darnall (383), Leo "Doc" Traister (168) and Ralph McKinzie (121) on the list.
The Red Devils will take a three-day break from game competition for the Thanksgiving holiday before continuing their season-long four-game homestand Friday versus Rockford at 6 p.m. in the Reagan Center.
