Fremd’s Glassmann, Wheeling’s Stephani come up big on opening night
Fremd senior guard Riley Glassmann scored a career-best 30 points to help Fremd’s boys basketball team start its season strong with a 61-38 victory over Chicago Mather in tournament play Monday at Fenton.
Glassmann made 11 field goals and went 8-for-13 at the foul line for Fremd. Despite the final score, the Vikings held only a 4-point lead at the break.
“We got into some foul trouble in the first half,” said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski, “but I was very pleased with how we played in the second half.”
Ben Carlson produced 8 points, and Matt Ochoa and Jalon Roundy had 6 apiece for Fremd, which got scoring from 10 of the 13 players who saw court time.
Widlowski was especially pleased to see Glassmann, a three-year starter, get off to such a strong start.
“He really came to play tonight,” Widlowski said. “That’s a great way to get it going.”
Ÿ Elk Grove came up short 61-59 against Lake Park in first-round play at Fenton. The Grenadiers face Proviso West in their second-round game at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Leyden 74, Wheeling 68 (2 OT): On the first night of the season, Wheeling senior Jeremy Stephani produced the kind of long-range shooting exhibition you don’t often see in the course of an entire year.
Stephani canned nine 3-points and finished with a career-best 38 points — yet it still wasn’t enough as the Wildcats fell in double overtime to Leyden in tournament play at Ridgewood.
Stephani finished with 12 total field goals and 5-for-8 at the free throw line.
His 3 biggest free throws came at the end of the first OT. Wheeling had possession with 4 seconds left when Stephani was fouled while attempting a 3.
He made the first two before Leyden called a timeout — but Stephanie wasn’t fazed, and made the third to force a second OT.
Wheeling coach Anthony Como said three straight possessions that ended with turnovers were too much for the Wildcats to overcome in the final extra session.
Chris Pierro finished with 15 points, including a pair of 3’s, for Wheeling after he was scoreless through the first three quarters.
Como was impressed by Stephani’s shooting display.
“He was getting good looks, but he was letting the game come to him,” Como said. “It helped that Leyden was playing a zone, but his rhythm was good and he was really getting his feet set.”
Geo Romero led Leyden with 18 points, including 5 3’s, and 6-foot-4 senior forward Nick Best had 16. JoQuill Meeks had 13, while Marcos Herrera and Aaron Stocks both finished with 11 for the Eagles.
Hersey 69, Glenbrook North 62: Hersey’s boys basketball team got its season off a terrific start Monday as the Huskies topped Glenbrook North 69-62 in tournament play at Niles West.
Forward Max Heeren led the way with 26 points, including three 3-pointers, for Hersey.
The Huskies outscored Glenbrook North 20-14 in the fourth quarter.
Guard Payton Haas had 12 points, including a pair of 3s, and Brandon Hattern also finished with a dozen points for Hersey. Alex Mueller added 8 points and Mike Fuerst had 6.
Coach Steve Messer’s team faces Niles West at Glenbrook North in Tuesday’s tournament matchup, starting at 5 p.m.
Libertyville 91, Maine West 69: The visiting Warriors trailed by just a point at the break, 36-35.
But then the height of the host Wildcats started to make a difference.
“They’re one of the bigger teams I’ve ever seen,” said coach John Bongiorno, making his debut as Maine West’s coach. “Eventually, they just wore us down.”
Joe Borcia led Libertyville with a game-high 24 points.
St. Joseph 62, Schaumburg 51: The Saxons came up short in the tournament opener at St. Charles East.