Fremds grinds past Huntley
Fremd and Huntley didn’t showcase their very finest play, at least offensively, Tuesday night in Palatine.
The nonconference boys basketball contest was a bit of a grinder, and when it was over the host Vikings had bested the Red Raiders 44-33.
“We didn’t play our best offensive game,” said Fremd junior guard Riley Glassmann of Fremd. “But our defense caused some key turnovers and we got some transition baskets from it. Coach (Bob Widlowski) preaches in practice that if we play defense we’ll be in every game.”
While Fremd’s offense had some struggles, Glassmann finished with a big night — 23 points and 7 rebounds.
“Riley was very sound tonight,” said Widlowski. “He made some good decisions with the ball. We played much better in the second half. We ran our offense better and were able to get the ball inside.”
Getting the ball inside was a problem the Vikings had in the first half despite a size advantage over the 4-2 Red Raiders.
“My biggest concern was that they would pound the ball inside,” said Huntley coach Marty Manning, a former Hoffman Estates player. “We knew they were a good passing team. But we have struggled on offense this season. We just have to go back to practice and figure how to get the ball in the basket.”
Huntley led the Vikings (7-2) after one quarter as Fremd was just 2 of 4 from the field and committed 4 turnovers.
With Huntley leading 11-5 with 6:14 left in the half Fremd went on a 13-2 run to finish the quarter leading 18-13.
Glassmann hit back-to-back 3s, the second coming with 3:02 remaining to give Fremd a 14-11 lead that would hold up.
Glassman had two baskets for all the Fremd points in the first quarter.
“It’s helps your confidence when you hit those early shots,” said Glassmann. “You get a feel for the game. You seem to see the court and your teammates much better.”
Trailing 20-13, the Red Raiders cut the lead to 2 at 20-18 on a layup from Jake Wagners (6 points).
Glassmann hit for a 3-pointer and followed that with a 3-point play. Michael Krupa (6 rebounds) ended the quarter with a basket to build the lead to 28-18.
Huntley came no closer than 30-23 with 5:28 left in the game.
Glassmann went 6-for-6 from the free throw line and Ben Carlson had a strong fourth quarter with 6 of his 8 points, 2 rebounds and an assist.
“We rushed things at first,” said Carlson. “As we became more patient we ran the offense better. We wanted to get the ball inside more early but we did not succeed doing that.”
“He (Carlson) finished the game well,” said Widlowski. “In the second half we wanted to get the ball more to him inside. We did play well on defense. We held (Bryce) Only to just 4 points in the first half. We had to focus on him and limit his looks.”
Only finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds for Huntley.