South Elgin records road win at Fenton

There were no fans, no player introductions and in the end, no 'W' for the Fenton boys basketball team.

But in the grand scheme of things, Friday was not a bad night at all for the Bison, who kicked off their pandemic-delayed season with a 49-46 Upstate Eight Conference defeat to visiting South Elgin, which improved to 3-1 on the year.

Bison senior Frankie Krygier did all he could to guide Fenton on Friday, but his 16-point, 10-rebound effort couldn't quite get his team past a Storm team that made five 3-pointers in the third quarter, while building a 42-32 lead heading into the final quarter.

"It feels great to be back on the court with my friends," the 6-foot-1 Krygier said. "Obviously, this was not the outcome we were looking for, but we came back well. We showed what the team is made of."

South Elgin coach Brett Johnson was happy to see another big game from his senior guard Aaron Wafford, who led all scorers with 21 points, including a trio of 3-pointers in the third quarter. Fellow guard Drew Cwik added a pair of 3s in the Storm's 17-point third quarter, which allowed the visitors to hang on after Fenton made a late charge.

"We didn't play with enough energy in the first half, but the shots fell in the third quarter when we needed them," Johnson said. "If we didn't get some of those to fall, I think Fenton wins the game. They played a real strong first game."

The Bison scratched their way back into the contest in the fourth quarter as Krygier and Xavier Gonzalez each tallied 3 baskets from the floor. The Storm eventually prevailed after Derek Richardson made both ends of a bonus situation with 20.9 seconds left for a 48-44 lead, and Wafford added another free throw in the waning seconds after Krygier had closed the gap to 48-46.

Bison coach Chaz Taft said the program was overjoyed to get the go ahead on the season at the start of the month, and now the players plan to take advantage of every opportunity.

"We were so happy when they told us we could start playing," Taft said. "We had 10 days of practice, and then I loved our kids' fight (against South Elgin). I like how we came back, plus we have great senior leadership from Frankie."

Krygier had 8 points in the first half as the hosts trailed 25-24 at the break. In the second half, he received help from both Gonzalez and Tristan Hausen as Fenton did all it could to take the game down to the wire despite Wafford's big night.

"We call him 'Fundamental Frank,'" Taft said of his team's leader. "He does everything right all the time. We tell the kids to be like Frank."