Fremd battles but comes up short against Waukegan

Fremd came up just a bit short Wednesday in the Class 4A boys basketball sectional semifinal in Waukegan.

The Vikings, who trailed by 9 points in the third quarter, rallied to tie the game in the final period, but just didn't have enough at the end, losing to Waukegan 52-50.

Waukegan (28-5) which is seeded third in the sectional, will meet top-seeded Stevenson Friday at 7 p.m.

Wednesday's game was reminiscent of the teams' meeting back in December, with just an opposite outcome. In that game, it was Waukegan that rallied to tie before Fremd won in double overtime 66-60.

"I am very proud of our attitude going into this game tonight," Fremd coach Bob Widlowski said. "We are extremely disappointed we didn't win. We fell one possession short in a great playoff environment."

Second-seeded Fremd (22-5) found itself trailing Waukegan 34-25 with 5:31 left in the third quarter with Waukegan threatening to run the Vikings out of the loud and raucous Dawg Pound.

But this has been a Viking team that had battled all season.

"The one thing about this team is that we never stop," said John Smyros, who led Fremd with 14 points. "We just keep grinding it out and playing defense. We just came up short this time."

Waukegan played into Fremd's hands, slowing the tempo down to a pace the Vikings were much more comfortable with.

"I think the seniors really set the pace," Widlowski said. "They stood out there with the bright lights on them and performed."

Fremd closed to 38-34 after three quarters. After a steal and jam by Waukegan's Bryant Brown, Fremd score 6 unanswered points to tie the game 40-40 on a pair of free throws by Dean Ganas with 5:27 to play.

Waukegan came right back to forge ahead on a 3-point play on its next possession and the Bulldogs would never trail. Fremd was able to cut the lead twice to just a point and three times to two points but could not get over the top thanks to 11-for-11 free throw shooting by Waukegan.

"We had a great season," said Ganas, who would finish with 7 points. "We went to a lot of people's gyms and won some great games. Unfortunately, we were not able to do that tonight."

Ganas, who along with Smyros, Bryce Hopkins and Tim Carlisle were seniors, said that was a special group.

"We had a real good team this year," Ganas said. "We had great team chemistry and a fun time."

Bryce Hopkins, who was the MVP of the Mid-Suburban West and hit the game-winning shot in the MSL title game, said that his team fought all the way through Wednesday night.

"It was a tough loss," said Hopkins, who finished with 4 points and 9 rebounds. "They got the best of us tonight. We kept battling down the stretch. They didn't think we could stay in the game but we proved to them and everyone in the stadium that we could."

Smyros and Fremd got off to a great start.

Smyros scored the Vikings' first 6 points as they opened up an early 8-3 advantage.

Despite turning the ball over six times in the first quarter, Fremd led 14-10.

That pressure began to take its toll on the Vikings as did Waukegan's Bryant Brown. The Bulldogs' second leading scorer in school history, Brown scored 9 of his 18 points in the period as Waukegan opened up a 30-23 lead at the break.

"The second half pace was more to our liking," Widlowski said.

"The first half pace got a little ahead of us. We had several opportunities and that was a battle."

Fremd, which converted 16-of-20 free throws, got strong play from their juniors. Kayman Hopkins had 13 points and 9 rebounds, Jake Schoffstall had 8 points and Charlie Towns chipped in 4 points.