Kruse still contributing as Carthage wins a big one
When he played at Lake Zurich High School, Brad Kruse was called a 'coaches' dream' by Billy Pitcher.
"He does every drill and every possession at 100 percent," said the Bears coach back in 2014. "And as if they might be his last."
Kruse's last 2 free throws recently gave Carthage College a dramatic 93-91 win over Elmhurst.
The Red Men tied the game at 91-91 with 15 seconds left in overtime when Drew Joiner hit a 3-pointer.
On the ensuing possession, Carthage forced a turnover to set up for the eventual game-winning possession.
That's when Kruse, a 6-foot-4 junior, drove to the rim and drew a foul.
After he hit the 2 free throws, Elmhurst's desperation last chance heave fell into Kruse's hands and the Red Men walked out with the improbable comeback win in which they trailed by 21 points.
It was the second time in as many games that Carthage overcame a 20-point deficit.
Kruse finished with 6 assists (tied for the team lead) and 5 points in the win that moved Carthage to 14-6 overall 7-4 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Kruse was a third-team all-CCIW selection last year.
Men's track
Augustana junior Kevin Barbian (Libertyville) took fifth place with a throw of 50-¾ at the Olivet Nazarene Invitational at the Perry Student Life Recreation Center.
Vikings juniors Josh Yamamoto (Fremd) and Kyle Hucker (Wauconda) were part of the winning 1,600 relay by 2.6 seconds over second-place North Central.
Augustana junior Evan Murphy (Buffalo Grove) turned in a fifth-place finish (44-1½) in the triple jump.
• Yamamoto (Fremd) and Hucker (Wauconda) were part of the 4X400 relay team that finished second (3:21.32) at the Squig Converse Invitational on Jan. 27 in Whitewater, WI.
Women's track
Augustana junior Emily Webster (Lakes) placed in two events, taking seventh in the shot (39-3¼) and eighth in the weight throw (46-2), at the Keck Select Invitational, where the Vikings took seventh as a team. Washington won the 11-team event with 119 points.
Women's basketball
Augustana senior Olivia Mayer (Libertyville) has dished out a team-high 72 assists for the Vikings, who are 8-4 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and 15-6 overall.
The Vikings have posted their most wins since finishing 15-9 in 2003-04.
Men's tennis
Augustana freshman Scott Daluga (Libertyville) teamed up with senior Nicholas Prabhakarto to win at No. 2 doubles, 8-3, in the Vikings 6-3 win over Monmouth at the Quad City Tennis Club.
Girls basketball
Lakes senior Sarah Zellmann has committed to Loras College to play basketball. The 5-foot-10 guard is a three-year varsity player.
Please let us know
Lake County sports fans, please send news items about former local prep athletes excelling in college athletics to jleusch@dailyherald.com.