Smyros, Fremd turn back Schaumburg

Chris Smyros gave Fremd a leg up over Schaumburg Tuesday in Palatine.

Smyros, who is a junior, scored 9 of his 11 points in the final quarter as the Vikings remained unbeaten with a 45-33 win over the Saxons.

"I was a little sort on my shots," Smyros said. "I realized that I need to use my legs and follow through and hit the shot and that's what I did. We needed points and we had some trouble in the first half. We went out and executed well."

Fremd (4-0, 4-0), which will meet Barrington on Friday in a battle for the Mid-Suburban West lead, struggled with its offense in the first half. The Vikings were able to take a 17-15 lead at the break, thanks to Jack Walsh, the 6-foot-4, 295-pound forward, who scored 8 of his 10 points in the first half.

"I got into the groove early," said Walsh, who finished with 12 rebounds. "I had to test the waters early. Once it came to the fourth quarter, they brought down two to three guys and that opened up everyone and they hit shots down the stretch."

Fremd ended up with four players in double figures with Eli Schoffstall leading the team with 14 points and Ryan Saxe adding 10 points.

Fremd coach Bob Widlowski said that scoring balance makes his team tough.

"We shared the ball very well tonight," Widlowski said. "We had four guys in double figures. If we continue to do that, it makes us difficult to guard."

It was 34-33 with 5:31 left to play. The Vikings held Schaumburg (1-3, 1-3) scoreless from there, limiting the Saxons to just one shot each trip.

"It was a very good second half," Widlowski said. "We were a little out of sync in the first half, but we got them stuck on a number. We kept grinding it out."

Fremd went on an 11-0 run to close out the game with Smyros scoring 7 of those points down the stretch. The Vikings also converted 7 free throws.

Schaumburg scored just 5 points in the final quarter as the Saxons had a difficult time knocking down shots.

"That has kind of been the theme," Schaumburg coach Wade Heisler said. "It is hard to win games if the ball does not go in the hole. We just have to keep working. I though we got some good looks, we just missed. At some point we are going to get hot and go on a roll."

Armen Torosian led Schaumburg with 11 points. While Vaurice Patterson. Nicholas Doroskin and DeJaunte Wilson each had 5 points each.