The College of DuPage men’s basketball team stopped their two-game losing streak in its tracks on Dec. 14, and freshman forward Braylen Meredith led the charge against Illinois Valley Community College. The Chaparrals clicked on all levels to help Meredith reach 47 points at home, breaking the COD point record (46) set by Perry Jonkeer from the 1967-1968 season. With unstoppable force, the Chaparrals took down the Eagles, winning 89-78 and improving their record to 6-4.

“We really needed that,” head men’s basketball coach Joe Kuhn said. “After a slow start, we really found our groove offensively in half-court and in transition. Second half, [the Eagles] really had a hard time with our zone; they just could not figure it out. Braylen Meredith set the school record, 47 points. He scored because [Michael Glover] and [Alecio Bonner] were tremendous in high post, really giving him some nice feeds along the baseline. He got some nice, easy buckets in transition, so obviously he was very effective. All in all, a really good game, and obviously we needed a win.”

In his record-breaking performance, Meredith made 18 field goals, two three-pointers, and nine shots from the free-throw line. He also made five total rebounds, two assists and one steal.

“I feel pretty good,” Meredith said. “I feel like this was my breakout game. I needed this. I know the type of player I am. I know I can come out here and score 40 [points on] any given night. I just got to get hot. I’m just really glad my teammates helped me and got the ball to me.”

Meredith said he feels like his success makes the rest of the team strive for success as well.

“When I score, everybody else wants to score and do their own thing,” he said. “If I eat, we all eat.”

Freshman guard Tylon Toliver added 15 points and put up five defensive rebounds. He also picked up four assists.

“We all feel really good,” Toliver said. “This was a good win that we needed after losing two games in a row. We see that we can play like this, so we just have to keep up the same energy we had today.”

Sophomore guard John Gray III scored five points and led the team with eight assists. He also added two defensive rebounds. He said he didn’t have to do much with Meredith and his team doing as well as they were.

“Braylen really put us on his back tonight,” Gray III said. “47 points; I’ve never seen anything like that. Nobody on my team has ever scored that many points. It was just crazy.”

Freshman forward Michael Glover secured 10 points with five total rebounds. He also recorded three assists and two steals. He said the team just focused on playing better together after two straight losses.

“The team really came together [after] the last two games,” Glover said. “During practice, we got a better attitude. We were tired of the outcomes that we’ve had, and we just came out trying to change it. We need to remind ourselves of what happened this game, and hopefully we can do it the next [game].”

The Chaparrals battle the Carl Sandburg College Chargers at 3 p.m. on Dec. 16 in Galesburg, Ill.