ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Eureka College men's basketball juniors Dustin Fritsch (Sterling, Ill./Sterling H.S./Sauk Valley) and Mark Lessen (Delavan, Ill./Delavan H.S.) have each been named to the All-St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team, according to an announcement from SLIAC Commissioner Will Wolper Thursday night at the SLIAC Tournament in St. Louis, Mo. Additionally, junior guard Jordan Kindred (Chrisman, Ill./Chrisman H.S.) received All-SLIAC Honorable Mention.
A newcomer to the Eureka men's basketball program, Fritsch was one of three players to start all 25 games for the Red Devils during the 2011-12 regular season. He finished the regular season as the SLIAC leader with 17.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Fritsch also ranked among the SLIAC leaders in 3-pointers made (51, second), minutes per game (31.8, sixth), field goal percentage (.511, seventh) and free throw percentage (.753, ninth) on his way to earning SLIAC Player of the Week awards on Nov. 21 and Dec. 19. He scored in double-figures in 23 of Eureka's 25 contests, including a career-high 31 points in an overtime victory over Greenville on Nov. 30 at the Reagan Center. His 10 double-doubles for the year were the most by any Eureka player.
Lessen made his third collegiate basketball season his best one to date. He joined Fritsch in the starting lineup in all 25 games, scoring 15.3 points per game and trailing only Fritsch as the SLIAC rebounding leader with 8.4 boards per contest. His regular season field goal percentage of .618 was tops among SLIAC players and ranked 10th nationally in Division III. Lessen received the SLIAC Player of the Week award on Jan. 23 and again on Feb. 13, while his 34-point, 18-rebound performance at Blackburn on Jan. 18 landed him on the D3Hoops.com National Team of the Week.
In addition to his production at the offensive end of the floor, Lessen was chosen as one of five members of the SLIAC All-Defensive Team. Lessen finished the regular season with 55 blocked shots to lead the SLIAC and rank tied for 20th nationally in NCAA Division III.
The most experienced Division III player on the Eureka roster, Kindred finished his redshirt junior season with averages of 12.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and a SLIAC-best 5.3 assists per game. His season assist total of 133 is the 10th-highest single-season mark in the history of Eureka men's basketball, while his career total of 313 currently ranks sixth in program history. Kindred was chosen as SLIAC Player of the Week on Jan. 30 thanks to a 40-point showing at Greenville on Jan. 28, just the fourth 40-point game on record in Eureka men's basketball history. He also ranks among the SLIAC leaders in steals (42, fifth), free throw percentage (.764, seventh), minutes per game (31.8, seventh) and 3-pointers made (37, 10th).
Eureka junior guard Rian Nailor (Rock Falls, Ill./Rock Falls H.S./Sauk Valley) was Eureka's representative on the SLIAC All-Sportsmanship Team. Nailor started all 25 regular season games in his debut season in a Eureka uniform. One player from each member school is selected for the SLIAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
Stefan Whittingham of regular season champion Webster was chosen as the SLIAC Player of the Year. Webster head coach Chris Bunch received SLIAC Coach of the Year honors. MacMurray's Clayton Whitlock received the SLIAC Newcomer of the Year, and Greenville received the SLIAC Sportsmanship Award.