Fremd nips Barrington
A quick start and dominant rebounding were they keys in Fremd's 39-33 win at Barrington Friday night in the Mid-Suburban West.
Fremd built a 12-0 lead with 1:30 left in the first quarter and forced the Broncos to play catchup.
"I wasn't as surprised as much as I was proud of our start," said senior guard Max Wexley, who scored 8 points and had 7 rebounds. "We executed early and it was a huge advantage in making them play catchup."
The Vikings, who finished conference play at 7-3 and moved to 16-10 overall, held a commanding 31-20 rebounding edge over the taller Broncos.
"That's something we take pride in, in crashing the boards," said senior Charlie Towns. "If we can get the rebounds and get tips for second chances, those extra possessions are really worthy."
Towns scored 4 of his 6 points in the first quarter and was credited with 7 rebounds.
With the rebounding advantage, Fremd was able to get extra shots. The Vikings connected on 15 of 43 attempts, while the Broncos shot 11 of 29 and had limited second-shot attempts.
"We played with a good attitude," Fremd coach Bob Widlowski said. "The senior leadership really showed today. Our players came out with a good defensive mindset. We have had different guys step up when we needed them, and today Towns stepped up in a tough conference game at Barrington, which is a very good team."
Leading 12-2 after the first quarter, Barrington slowly began closing the gap.
Six Barrington players scored in the second quarter, and a basket from Charlie Loomis (10 points) narrowed the score to 20-16 with 58 seconds left before halftime.
Jake Schoffstall, who would lead Fremd with 10 points, connected on a 3-point basket with two defenders in front of him for a 23-16 as the halftime buzzer sounded.
Schoffstall and Wexley scored to start the third quarter and gave the Vikings a 27-16 lead.
Another basket by Loomis, who finished a 6-0 Broncos run, cut Fremd's lead to 27-22 with 1:55 left in the quarter.
Again, it was Wexley and Schoffstall connecting for Fremd, who led 31-22 at third-quarter's end.
Barrington would get as close as 4 points twice.
Dylan Keenan's steal and score with 3:48 left in the game made the score 32-28.
Fremd's Jack Walsh, who hit the winning basket in Fremd's 52-50 win back on Jan. 10 against Barrington, scored on his own putback, and then scored on an assist from Wexley to increase the lead to 8 at 36-28.
Two free throws by Loomis and a 3-point basket from Will Grudzinski pulled Barrington to 37-33 with 57 seconds left.
Barrington's pressure defense forced a turnover with 19.8 left, but a 3-point shot missed.
Matt Wingen scored Fremd's final basket on a layup with 10 seconds left.
"For the most part, we handled their traps pretty well," Widlowski noted. "Walsh made those two baskets and that gave us some room."
Barrington saw its 7-game winning game snapped. The Broncos had also won 9 of 10 since losing to Fremd earlier.
The Broncos finished Mid-Suburban West play at 6-4 and are 20-6 overall.