Hersey makes it a 5-0 week with big win over Fremd

Hersey's boys basketball team ended a week to remember Saturday with a convincing 54-29 Mid-Suburban League crossover win over Fremd Saturday in Palatine.

It was the fifth win of the week for Hersey, which improved to 10-2 on the season. The Huskies beat Prospect twice this week, along with Elk Grove, Wheeling and Fremd.

"This is probably the only time we will every have five wins in a week," Hersey coach Austin Scott said. "It was a lot of emotions this week. The ups and downs of playing Prospect twice in a week, which were close games. I give our guys a lot of credit for staying focused."

Hersey had a clear focus from the opening inbounds pass Saturday.

With Fremd hosting its Senior Night and starting five seniors, Hersey jumped all over the Vikings. The Huskies forced 7 Fremd turnovers in the first four minutes to bolt to a 12-0 lead.

"I make it a big deal about my defense," said Hersey's Andrew Wagner, who had 3 steals during that span and scored 6 of his 9 points.

"I'm undersized and I don't like people pushing me around. Our length helps a lot, but our energy really sparked us,"

While the Hersey defense was limiting Fremd to just 6-of-19 shooting in the first half, the Huskie offense was doing its thing. Led by Griffin Ginder, Ethan Roberts and Drew Zagorski, who drained a half-court shot at the buzzer, the Huskies hit 13-of-24 in the first half while building a 32-14 advantage.

"It was along week, but we came out with energy," said Ginder, who converted all five of his field goal attempts and finished with 12 points.

"Coach Scott prepared us well. With the long week, he expected us to be mentally focused and come out with energy. With the long-term goal of winning the MSL, this is a statement game for us to play. They are one of the top teams form the West side consistently."

With the deep hole Fremd (7-2) could never recover.

"Their length defensively and their offensive execution was very strong today," Fremd coach Bob Widlowski said. "They played very well and they did what they wanted to do. The ran their stuff very well tonight."

Chris Smyros led Fremd with 13 points and Eli Schoffstall had 5 points.

Roberts had 10 points for Hersey and Zagorski finished with 8 points.

"We ended this week by beating one of the best programs in the state," Scott said. "That is something our guys should be real proud of."