For Immediate Release

Eureka, IL

December 3, 2008

Bell tolls late for Red Devils' rally versus greenville

Boxscore

A hearty second half rally featuring 57 points could not dig the EC Red Devils out from the avalanche thrown on them by Greenville College in the final six minutes of the opening half. Greenville finished the first session on a 24-8 run and held off a late Eureka College comeback attempt for a 95-88 victory in the SLIAC conference opener for both teams.

The Panthers (2-3, 1-0 SLIAC) broke out of the gate with their claws sharpened, sprinting to a 9-0 advantage. But just a quickly, Brady Wildenradt (Delavan, Ill./HS) got Eureka (2-4, 0-1) jump-started by sandwiching a pair of three-pointers around a Michael Zasada (McHenry, Ill./HS) lay up to make the score 9-8.

The teams appeared to settle into yet another classic barnburner that they have grown accustomed to in recent years as EC was able to answer Greenville each time the Panthers tried to stretch out the lead. The Red Devils climbed to within one point again at the 11:16 mark, fell behind by seven, then got back within 22-20 on a Clint Rabbe (El Paso, Ill./HS) triple.

Rabbe again connected from behind the arc cutting Greenville's lead to 26-23 with 6:22 on the clock. Little did anyone know that would be the closest Eureka would get the rest of the night. With 5:12 to play in the half, David Gregornik hit a jumper that unleashed a furious offensive attack with shots raining in from all sides and angles. Greenville went on to put 22 points on the board over the final 4:30 of the half to build a 50-31 halftime lead. The Panthers shot 58 percent (21-for-36) in the half overall, which including a sparkling 7-for-9 clip from three-point territory.

Kameron Bell (Clinton, Ill./HS) saved the Red Devils from trailing by more than 20 points at the half by converting a three-point play in the final seconds. Eureka badly needed a spark off the bench in order to get back in the game, and Bell was up to the challenge. He tallied 14 points in the second half and finished with 20 despite playing just 16 minutes.

Also helping Eureka gain a 39-26 edge in bench scoring was Rabbe, who connected on 4-of-6 from long range for 12 points. Those two off the bench and starters Wildenradt and Jordan Kindred (Chrisman, Ill./HS) provided a potent offensive punch, but the Red Devils first needed to tighten the lid defensively, and that did not happen quite soon enough for such a large deficit.

Try as they might, the Red Devils could not begin slicing into the Greenville led until over half of the second period had expired. The Panthers actually increased their lead to as many as 22 before EC began to make things interesting for the home crowd.

Kindred made two free throws in between a pair of Rabbe treys as Eureka climbed to within 75-63 at the 5:20 mark. Greenville moved back ahead by 14, but then Bell stepped up with two lay ups, with the second coming off his own miss and part of another three-point play. His free throw made it 77-68 with 4:37 remaining.

The Panthers again pulled out to a 13 point edge only to see Eureka counter to get even closer. Wildenradt dropped in a three-pointer from the corner before Bell once again made two consecutive shots and was fouled on the second to bring most of the crowd to its feet. This time, however, he misfired on the free throw that would have cut the Greenville lead to four with 2:29 left.

The Red Devils had one more shot to get within four with just under two minutes to go, but could not convert. Greenville scored the next four points to go up 89-79 entering the final minute and held on from there.

Bell's 20 points came in addition to his eight rebounds and two steals on 8-of-14 shooting. Kindred orchestrated much of the EC comeback, with 16 second half points. He finished with 18 points on just seven field goal attempts on the night. He also had five rebounds and three assists. Wildenradt racked up 19 points and made five treys. Zasada led EC in rebounds with nine. He added eight points and three steals as well.

Ben Cochran recorded a game-high 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting for Greenville. The Panthers hit 65 percent (11-for-17) of their three-point tries in the game, which was higher than their overall field goal percentage of 53.

Eureka's road does not get any easier Saturday, December 6 as the Red Devils host SLIAC foe Fontbonne University at 6:00 pm. The Griffins have won the last two conference tournament titles, including an 88-79 overtime decision over EC in 2007.

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For More Information Contact:

Bryan Moore
Sports Information Director
Eureka College
300 E. College Avenue
Eureka, Illinois 61530
309-467-6456
bmoore@eureka.edu