Patel, Fremd pass tough test at Glenbrook North

Glenbrook North's boys basketball program may be having a down year, at least by its own standards.

The Central Suburban North school came into Tuesday's game against visiting Fremd with a record of 10 wins and 12 losses - but the Spartans' gym is still a tough place to get a win.

Just ask the Vikings.

The Spartans gave undefeated Fremd all it could handle, but the Vikings were finally able to shake off the home team and come away with a 53-44 nonconference win.

Fremd's victory was due in large part to the splendid play of senior forward Shaan Patel. He had 10 points and 11 rebounds and played a great all-around game.

"Shaan has been very consistent all year long," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "He can play multiple positions and he's a great passer."

Patel grabbed 6 of his boards in the first quarter as the Vikings (22-0) sprinted out to a 15-3 lead.

But Glenbrook North, which not too long ago won a state championship (in 2005), scored the next 8 points to trail only 15-11 at the end of the period.

"We were being sloppy with the ball," said Patel. "We had to focus on limiting our turnovers and playing better 'D'."

"Glenbrook North was giving a good effort," said Widlowski. "We got off to a quick lead, but they were doing a great job of running their stuff. They were able to finish out the first quarter in their favor."

The Vikings kept a 4-point lead at halftime, but Patel began the third quarter just like he started out the first - with a rebound and a putback to extend the lead.

Fremd Senior Kyle Sliwa scored 7 of his team-high 14 points in the third quarter, and Fremd held a 38-33 going into the fourth.

Then Patel came up with another amazing effort.

The senior opened the final stanza with a nifty feed to Brian Dompke, who was fouled and sank 2 free throws.

Patel then had a steal and layup and the other end, and finished the sequence with a block of a Spartans layup attempt.

Two more free throws from Dompke gave Fremd a double-digit lead.

Glenbrook North was able to close to within 51-44 with a minute left but the Vikings had 13 free throws in the fourth quarter to close out the win.

"We had four guys score at least 10 points tonight," said Widlowski. "That's solid, unselfish, sharing-the-ball basketball."

Luke Schoffstall had 11 points for the Vikings, while Dompke added 10.

And when all was said and done, both Patel and Widlowski reflected on the sterling effort of the team this year.

"Since we're undefeated, we have a target on our back," said Patel. "For us, we just look forward to the next game. That keeps us going. We go through the same routine game after game, and we don't take anyone for granted."

"The key to this streak has been the focus of our seniors," said Widlowski. "All season they've just taken it game by game and looked forward to the next opponent. That's led to our success."