Fremd rains 3s on Lake Zurich, will play for regional title

Fremd got an early start on the IHSA 3-point shooting contest which is held on Friday.

The fifth-seeded Vikings knocked down 11-of- 26 3-point attempts as they rolled past 12th-seeded Lake Zurich 55-41 Tuesday in the Class 4A boys basketball regional at Hersey in Arlington Heights.

"We had a week of preparation for one team and we are very pleased how we executed our offense," Fremd coach Bob Widlowski said. "We shared the ball, we moved the ball and I thought we were difficult to guard tonight because we had five guys out there sharing the ball."

Fremd will play 13th-seed Hersey for the regional championship Friday at 7 p.m. after Hersey stunned fourth-seeded Palatine 53-51 in Wednesday's opener.

Fremd had four players in double figures with Eli Schoffstall, Cameron Kuhn and Caiden Suchy each with 13 points while Ryan Sammons had 12 points.

"We have been planning all week to play against their 1-2-2 zone," said Sammons, who had 4 3-pointers. "We just wanted the ball to fly around and everyone to get shots. And that's exactly what we did and I thought it worked real well."

The Vikings' first 10 field goal attempts were from outside the arc. And they were a near deadeye, knocking down five of them as Fremd built a 15-7 lead.

With Lake Zurich continuing to stay in its zone, Fremd remained patient, moving the ball around the perimeter. The Vikings were able to drain 2 more 3-pointers as they took a 26-14 advantage at the half.

"We knocked them down early against their zone," Widlowski said. "They then stretched it a bit and we were able to get inside."

Fremd remained patient as Lake Zurich began to stretch its zone. That opened up the inside for the Vikings to get a pair of layups from Chris Smyros and Suchy.

When Lake Zurich tightened things up, Fremd went bombing again. Aaron Orido got into the 3-point shooting contest when he drained a half court shot at the end of the third quarter as the Vikings extended their lead to 40-24.

"We shared the ball real well tonight," Kuhn said. "Shots really fell for us tonight. We weren't selfish and go everyone involved."

Lake Zurich tried to catch the Vikings and the Bears were able to get the lead down to 11 on two occasions, but could never get closer.

Lake Zurich (11-21), which was playing without leading scored Brady Sykes, who was injured, was led by Nick Pezzella, who had 14 points and Nick Popovic who had 6 points.

"We have to execute our scouting report a little bit better," Lake Zurich coach Terry Coughlin said. "We played real hard and we fought to the end. That is all what we can ask for from our kids."