Fremd's depth shows in victory over Hoffman Estates

Fremd boys basketball coach Bob Widlowski has always been a proponent of going deep into his bench, regularly playing as many as 10 players. And that approach paid huge dividends for Fremd on Saturday in the Vikings' 67-53 victory of Hoffman Estates in Palatine.

After a lethargic start, Widlowski quickly went to his bench to spark the Vikings. And they didn't disappoint. Led by Kyle Sliwa, the Fremd reserves accounted for 18 of Fremd's 30 first-half points.

"I don't mind coming off the bench" said Sliwa, a sophomore who finished with 15 points. "I just try to play my own part, whether it is passing or shooting. Sometime I will play the 'four' or a guard. It is just whatever we need."

Widlwoski credited the play of Sliwa, Brian Dompke (9 points), James Kating and Michael Paulter for putting a charge into the Vikings.

"When guys come of the bench and step up it makes us hard to guard," Widlowski said. "I thought Sliwa did a great job on both ends of the court and I thought Dompke played real well for us, too."

Widlowski was also pleased with his team's defensive effort in the first half. After giving up 6 points in the game's first three minutes, the Vikings allowed just 9 the rest of the way to lead 30-15 at the break.

"I thought we did a real nice job defensively in the first half," Widlowski said. "We kind of let (Jorden) Thornton get going in the second half. He hit some tough shots, but we want to make sure we don't lose him."

Thornton did break away at times to get Hoffman Estates (5-9, 0-5) going. The junior keyed an early run to start the second half as the Hawks pulled to within 30-22 early in the third quarter.

But Fremd (13-3, 4-1) made sure those runs were short-lived.

Led by Xavier Williams, Patrick Benka, Zach Schoffstall and Payton Kim, the Vikings kept safely out in front.

"Our bench had a huge role tonight" said Williams, who finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds. "Sliwa came in and did damage. That's what picked up the tempo, and then we took charge in the second half."

Leading 33-25, Fremd scored the next 7 points and then started getting to the free throw line. The Vikings finished 19-for-25 to put the game away.

Schoffstall had 7 points for Fremd while Kim chipped in 6 as eight Fremd players scored.

"I thought we shared the ball well," Widlowski said. "And I thought we finished down the stretch tonight."

Thornton led Hoffman Estates with 21 points while Dante Cleveland had 15 points. But the Hawks had trouble finding points from the rest of its squad, which was disappointing to coach Luke Yanule.

"At this point in the year I think it is time to grow up," Yanule said. "I thought the second quarter was key. It was a 5-point game going into it and I think we got a little stagnant offensively."

• Before the start of the game Fremd honored former assistant coach Ron Cregier, who is being inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coach's Association Hall of Fame.

Cregier, who began his coaching career at Mt. Carmel in 1972, was a head coach at Schaumburg for 13 years and an assistant coach at Fremd for 14 more. Cregier also coached at Harper.

"I am really grateful for all the opportunities I had," said Cregier, who will retire from teaching this year after 42 years. " I really appreciate Bob (Widlowski) and Fred (Allman) for nominating me."