Barrington surges past Fremd to take MSL West lead
Fremd made the seven-mile trek from its campus on Palatine's south side to Barrington for a clash of unbeatens to determine which team would gain the upper hand at the midway point of Mid-Suburabn West boys basketball play Friday night.
Using a pair of surges in the late stages of the third quarter and in the early going of the fourth, the host Broncos took a 52-42 decision to place them alone atop the West standings at the halfway mark of divisional play and overall at 5-0.
"It was nice to have it bounce our way tonight," Barrington coach Bryan Tucker said. "We've got a great group of kids. They work hard. They're having fun. When they attack and share the ball, they're pretty fun to watch."
What made it fun for Tucker was taking permanent control of the game with a 9-0 run that gave his squad a 36-27 edge just inside the two-minute mark of the third. After the Vikings (4-1, 4-1) closed to within 36-31 at period's end, the home team used a 10-2 run at the start of the fourth to keep Fremd at a distance. The visitors got no closer than 6 the rest of the way.
The Broncos' defensive presence also aided their cause, limiting the Vikings to just 8 for 26 (30 percent) in the second half including 4 of 15 (26 percent) in the final eight minutes of play.
Damian Zivak led the winning effort for Barrington as the 6-foot-5 senior forward tallied a team-high 17 points and 9 rebounds followed by 6-6 junior swingman Will Grudzinski with 14 points.
Five-11 junior guard Eli Schoffstall paced Fremd with 19 points.
In lauding Zivak's performance, Tucker praised his third-year varsity letterman's leadership traits.
"Damian is always in a gym and it shows," Tucker said. "He's been through the battles. The (other) kids are gonna look at his direction in pressure situations. He thrives on it and loves it. He steps up and is a great leader."
As Barrington begins round two of MSL West play by hosting Schaumburg Tuesday, both Zivak and his head coach are well aware of the battles ahead.
"Obviously we're not going to take off the gas. We're just going to keep going," Zivak said. "We're going for conference. That's what it's all about."
"Coming into this game we were losing three of the four (previous) games at the half or (going) into the fourth quarter," Tucker said. "We've been in a battle in every game."