Fremd pulls away from Hoffman

With a 22-6 lead after one quarter, it looked like Fremd was going to run away with its Mid-Suburban West boys basketball game Friday night at Hoffman Estates.

But the Hawks closed out the second quarter with a 10-2 run to pull to within 26-18 at halftime as the Vikings were outscored 12-4 in that period.

But Fremd (16-4, 7-1) regrouped at the intermission, built a 38-25 lead after three quarters, and went on to pull away in the fourth quarter for a 52-33 victory.

Hoffman Estates (6-15, 1-7) scored the first basket of the game. But Fremd went on a 20-2 run after that as the Vikings held a commanding 24-8 lead on Max Wexley's rebound basket with 4:30 remaining in the second quarter.

The Hawks got back into the contest behind 8 of senior Rudra Patel's team-high 13 points in the first half as the Vikings really struggled offensively in the second quarter after their great start.

"We came out and played very well in the first quarter, but Hoffman came out with a lot of energy, and they battled tonight which we knew they would," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski, whose team outscored the Hawks 26-15 in the second half. "(At halftime) we talked about refocusing on what we do which is mainly defense and executing offensively."

After an 11-2 Hoffman Estates run cut the lead to 26-19 early in the third quarter, 3-pointers by Fremd teammates Bryce Hopkins (game-high 14 points), and John Smryos (13 points) quickly boosted the lead back to 32-19.

The Hawks did hang tough as a 3-pointer by junior Levent Sertesen cut the gap to 32-23 with 4:23 left in the third quarter. But Fremd's Dean Ganas (8 points) answered right back with a 3-pointer of his own and the Vikings were never seriously threatened after that.

"We came out with a lot of intensity, but the intensity was a little down in the second quarter," said Smryos, who had 7 points at halftime. "We came out with a little more intensity in the third quarter, and as a point guard my job is to get the ball and go. We know every game counts so when the playoffs come around we have to be ready to go in two weeks."

Overall Fremd did a good job defensively of containing 6-foot-6 Hoffman Estates senior Sheldon Barnett-Morales (7 points). But Barnett-Morales did bring the home crowd to its feet with a flying rebound dunk with 5:56 to play.

Junior Kayman Hopkins chipped in 8 points for the Vikings while Sertesen added 7 points for the Hawks.

"I'm proud of our heart, we cut it to eight points at halftime," said Hoffman Estates coach Luke Yanule, whose team struggled offensively the first time it met Fremd in early December. "Their guards are so good and athletic, and they made plays. At the end of the game we have to control the glass better and contain their penetration."

Overall, Widlowski was fairly happy with his squad's performance in the second half despite some ups and downs on offense.

"We shared the ball, we moved the ball, but we kind of got out of our rhythm in the third quarter," added Widlowski, whose team posted a 35-14 victory in the first meeting on Dec. 7.