Guards deliver for Fremd against Lake Park

Fremd's guard play was the difference in the Vikings' 53-43 win over Lake Park in the third round of the 29th annual Chuck Mitchell Tournament at Fenton on Wednesday.

Guards Zach Schoffstall, Xavier Williams, Payton Kim and Kyle Sliwa combined for 26 points.

Schoffstall led the way with 16 points and 4 assists to help Fremd improve to 3-0. The win puts the Vikings in the championship game Friday at 1:30 against Elk Grove (3-0), a 65-44 winner over Holy Trinity.

"Zach brings energy to the game," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "This year's team is different from last year's. As coaches, we felt that Zach could do some good things for us. We were confident in his ability to contribute and step right into his role. He was an outstanding soccer player this fall and he made a quick transition to basketball."

Schoffstall's 3-point basket with 6:03 left in the game gave the Vikings a 41-32 lead. Schoffstall hit for another basket moments later for a 43-33 lead. He hit 4 of 4 free throws down the stretch to keep the Lancers (2-1) at bay.

"Last year I was a scout team player," said Schoffstall. "We had a lot of good seniors so I just played late in the games. This year we're a team that drives to the basket, and if nothing is there we kick it out to some one that is open. All of the guards can shoot and handle the ball. That's going to be a big help as the year goes on. I just love my role and I'm happy to be playing."

Schoffstall helped the Vikings open a 28-15 lead at halftime by scoring 7 points in the first half. Williams added 6 points in the half.

Fremd opened up a 36-24 lead with 3:06 left in the third quarter on a Payton Kim drive to the basket. Lake Park bounced back with Marcus McDaniel (9 points) scoring. A 3-point play by Cameron Van Aswegen (8 points) pulled the Lancers to within 36-29.

Lake Park led early 9-5 but then went scoreless the rest of the quarter with Fremd scoring the last 12 points via five different players.

"We missed five layups in that span," said Lake Park coach Josh Virostko. "We weren't finishing our shots and Fremd did. You can't let that happen against good teams. We began settling for jump shots and you're not going to win that way. Hopefully this game will wake us up."

Fremd won the battle of the boards 28-19 with Ryan Kraske pulling down 8 rebounds with Sliwa and Brian Dopke grabbing 6 each.