Walsh's basket lifts Fremd over Barrington in OT

Fremd junior star Kayman Hopkins was lost for the season due to a left knee injury suffered Tuesday night against Rolling Meadows.

Forward Charlie Towns went down with a sprained ankle also. but will be back in a few weeks.

So, what's a team to do when you lose two starters?

For the host Vikings, it meant digging into the bench for more minutes.

Reserve junior center Jack Walsh came up with the big play for Fremd as the overtime buzzer sounded.

Walsh took a pass from Max Wexley as time was running out.

"It was an isolation play," said Walsh. "I crept down in the post in case there was a missed shot and maybe I could get the rebound."

Wexley (12 points, 3 assists) passed the ball to Walsh instead. Walsh took a step in the lane and used a left-handed hook shot.

The ball bounced several times on the rim before falling through for a 52-50 win over Barrington in the Mid-Suburban West.

"I wasn't expecting the ball but I made the play," said Walsh. "It was the biggest basketball play of my life. Kudos to Hopkins. He puts his heart and soul into every game and practice. His play has really motivated me."

Walsh scored 9 points and had 6 rebounds.

The win keeps the Vikings in first place in the MSL West with a 3-1 mark along with Schaumburg and Palatine.

Fremd improved to 9-7 while the Broncos dropped to 11-4 overall and 2-2 in conference play.

"It came down to a one-possession game," said Barrington coach Bryan Tucker. "I'm proud of our kids. They played hard and played their hearts out. Fremd was just able to make one more play tonight. The clock ran out on us."

Barrington had a 9-point lead at 12-3 following Dylan Keenan's 3-pointer basket with 6:13 left in the first half.

Fremd chipped away at the lead and cut it to 22-19 on a 3-point play by Walsh with 10 seconds left in the half.

Jake Schoffstall (15 points) sparked the Vikings to a 29-26 lead following his steal and basket.

Barrington bounced back with a 10-1 run to lead 38-30. Walsh scored with one second left in the third quarter to make the score 38-32.

Down 42-34 with 5:55 left in regulation the Vikings held Barrington scoreless the rest of the way. Schoffstall scored his team's last two baskets to tie the score at 42. His shot at the buzzer bounced off the front of the rim.

In the overtime Wexley hit a free throw for a 50-48 lead with 46 seconds left. Will Grudzinski scored with 35 seconds left to tie the game for the Broncos.

That set the stage for Walsh's dramatic basket.

"Jack played well off the bench for us," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "Tonight he had big minutes. He did a nice job stepping up. We talked about playing this one for Hopkins. The kids wanted to come out put up a big effort for him."

"A lot of players got more playing time and they stepped up," said Schoffstall. "We showed tonight that we can play through adversity. Jack was solid. He stepped up, made a big shot, and I loved it."

Barrington received strong efforts from Damian Zivak and Aaron Sarkar, who each had 13 points. Zivak also had 8 rebounds. Keenan added 12 points.