Quick start propels Fremd past Wheeling
It's not about how you start, it's about how you start with a vengeance.
Fremd, which has had some not-so-quick beginnings to games this year, flipped that script Tuesday night.
The Vikings stormed out to a quick 10-0 lead against visiting Wheeling and kept the pedal to the metal the rest of the way in a 54-34 Mid-Suburban League boys basketball crossover win.
All five Fremd starters - Kayman Hopkins, Jake Schoffstall, Charlie Towns, Matt Wingen and Max Wexley - tallied a bucket in the hot 10-point run.
"We're definitely more confident now than we were at the start of the season," said Wexley, a senior guard. "We're starting to bond, we're starting to garner some chemistry, and we're executing.
"Honestly, we wanted to come out and get the first punch. We've been digging ourselves some holes early lately, so we wanted to start off strong and get out in front."
Wexley scored 15 points for the Vikings, while teammate Hopkins, a 6-foot-5 junior, had 15 points and 9 boards.
Senior Raven Reid led the Wheeling effort with 9 points.
The Wildcats had scored at least 58 points in each of their games so far this season, including putting up 87 in their opener against Chicago Sullivan, in running out to a 4-1 record, but ran into a tough defensive squad in the Vikings.
"Fremd is a different animal," said Wildcats coach Michael O'Keeffe of Tuesday's opponent. "They're one of the top programs in the state and they defend at a high rate every possession. We definitely haven't seen that type of defensive intensity for 32 minutes and it was a good learning experience for our guys.
"We dug ourselves a big hole (23-9) at the end of the first quarter, and then after that we basically played them even. We've just got to get off to better starts against teams like these, the top teams in the conference."
Down 30-18 at halftime, the Wildcats scored first after intermission as Robert Bucko fed Joe Jordan for a quick layup.
But Fremd senior forward Towns put a quick end to any thoughts of a Wheeling rally, scoring 6 points on a 3-point play then a 3-pointer from the corner moments later.
"We knew coming in that Wheeling was having a good year and that we'd have to be on top of our game tonight," said Towns. "Sometimes that's tough to do on a Tuesday night, but Wheeling is a good team so we knew we'd have to play well.
"In the second quarter, we kind of got stuck on the number 23 (the Vikings didn't score for the first 6½ minutes of the second period). After halftime we tried to come out and limit our turnovers, stay consistent in our offense and get good shots."
A dunk then a layup by Hopkins helped the Vikings extend the lead to 42-28 late in the third. Then in the fourth Fremd put the game away by coming out with a pair of Wexley drives and layups and a 3-pointer by senior Russ Beaupre.
Fremd held Wheeling to 4 points in the final stanza.
Bucko scored 7 points for Wheeling, Jordan added 6, while Towns pitched in with 12 points and 6 rebounds for the Vikings.
"We have gotten off to kind of slow starts this year, and we've tried to pick it up in the second half," said Towns. "That's been a problem for us. Our goal tonight was to get off to a hot start so we didn't have to dig ourselves out of a hole."