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Barrington stands tall against Fremd

As if Barrington's height, rebounding and defensive prowess isn't enough, wait until the Broncos, as coach Bryan Tucker puts it, "get a little better at valuing the basketball."

A little bit better shot selection, especially according to the situation, and having key ballhandlers stay out of foul trouble will help them be even more impressive than they already were in Friday night's 65-57 Mid-Suburban West win at home over Fremd.

"We have to tighten up on the defensive end, take a few better shots," Tucker continued in his best postgame rasp, battling a cold.

Fremd would tell you the Broncos tightened it up a lot, especially after the Vikings shot 22-of-55 from the floor but hurt themselves not boxing out well enough on the defensive boards and missing 8 of 14 free throws.

But the Broncos (7-3, 3-0) asserted their height advantage in the final quarter, pulling away from a tightly played 44-40 advantage to a lead as wide as 53-40 on an 11-point run that overlapped the third period into the fourth.

Jake Orr started it with a driving hoop on a broken floor at the third-quarter buzzer. Six-foot-9 junior center Rapolas Ivanaukas (24 points) kept it going with a driving hoop and a reverse layin off a spread floor. Chris Lester (13) added a driving hoop, Will Reinhard (14) had a 3-point play inside and next thing you know, the Broncos had a pretty much insurmountable lead, keyed by their rebounding.

"We feel like one of the essentials is getting position before the shot goes up," said Reinhard, a 6-6 junior.

That's important against Fremd, a not-quite-as-tall team but one that is "very aggressive," Reinhard said. "Especially crashing the boards."

Fremd did the best it could, which enabled them to hang close for three quarters. Perimeter shooting from Zach Schoffstall (15 points) also keep the Vikings (9-2, 2-1) in the picture. Backcourt running-mate Xavier Williams scored from all over in compiling 13 points. But forwards Patrick Benka, James Kating, Brian Dompke and Ryan Kraske, all 6-5 or better, all got into foul trouble trying to contain Ivanauskas, Reinhard and Lester.

"They hurt us on the offensive boards," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "They're big, but we've done a very good job rebounding all year. They (Barrington) all offensive-rebounded well tonight."

And shot free throws well. Ivanauskas was 8-of-8 and Reinhard and Lester combined to hit enough of theirs in the fourth quarter to maintain the margin.

"Our team chemistry is very good," said Reinhard. "I feel like I can step up defensively," and help Ivanaukas, who is the ultimate defender around the rim. Barrington blocked 5 shots.

Now they have to do it all over again right away. Barrington plays in the Jacobs Tournament on Saturday afternoon, while Fremd plays Dundee-Crown at the Wheeling Tournament on Monday.

Images: Barrington vs. Fremd, boys basketball

  Fremd's Kyle Sliwa goes up for a shot against Barrington's Rapolas Ivanauskas during MSL West boys basketball action Friday night. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
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