Patiently, Fremd pulls away from Palatine
In the final minutes of the first half in the Mid-Suburban League West boys’ basketball game between Palatine and Fremd on Thursday night, the Pirates were able to force 3 turnovers and cut Fremd’s lead from 9 points down to 3.
Only a Riley Glassmann free throw with two seconds left in the half was able to keep it a two-possession game.
At halftime, though, the Vikings were able to re-group, and they came out on a 6-0 run to push their lead back to 10 points, and eventually go on to a 49-38 victory.
“I thought that was a key part of the game; us being able to come out in the third quarter and get our lead back,” Fremd coach Bob Widlowski said. “We did a nice job defensively to hold them scoreless on the first several possessions.”
Palatine’s defense caused havoc in the passing lanes in the early parts of the game, and it took Fremd some time to adjust to the pressure.
“We talk a lot about how our defense can generate offense for us. That’s really what got us back in the game,” Palatine coach Eric Millstone said. “The way our offense was working, we needed to find a way to put points on the board.”
Glassmann had 10 points and 7 rebounds for the Vikings, and Garrett Peters scored a game-high 17 points.
“I think we were rushing our shots a little bit, and taking bad shots,” Glassmann said of the early parts of the game. “Coach called a timeout and said we’ve got to have better shot selection and make five passes before a shot. That really helped open up or shots.”
Palatine (1-6, 0-2) was able to make it a 4-point game again by the end of the third quarter thanks to a 10-4 run led by De’Marius Bailey (7 points, 5 rebounds), Roosevelt Smart (13 points, 4 rebounds), and John Millin (7 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists).
Fremd (5-2, 1-1) was able to maintain its composure and sink 11-of-18 free throws in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
“In the last quarter, and the last five minutes, we spread them out and ran our open offense,” Peters said. “We spread them out, took care of the ball and made the free throws we took. It was a huge change from the first half.”
Millin had suffered an injury to his left ankle before the season began, and was making his season debut.
“He played hard,” Millstone said of Millin. “He’s got a huge heart, and I’m just glad he was able to get back when he did. This is his first game, so it’s just a matter of getting his timing back.”