After his team had shot a torrid 65 percent the day before in a rout of Wheaton North in its Elgin Holiday boys basketball tournament opener, the last thing Fremd coach Bob Widlowski expected was a long cold spell in its second-round game Tuesday against Dundee-Crown.
But 5:56 into the game the Vikings trailed 20-12.
That’s when Fremd regained its composure and bounced back in the second quarter to take the lead. A combination of a balanced offensive attack and solid defense proved too much for the Chargers as the Vikings rolled 77-58.
“As good of a start as we got off to against Wheaton North, we did the opposite against Dundee-Crown,” Widlowski said. “But once we settled down and got some stops on defense, we played much better.”
The game was shaping up as a race, with Dundee-Crown (4-5) taking the early lead and Fremd (8-2) coming from off the pace. After trailing 22-18 after one quarter, the Vikings raced to a 41-31 lead at the half. Fremd kept up the pressure at both ends and built a 62-46 advantage after three quarters.
Alex Wereminsky led the Vikings with 18 points. Grant Siders (16 points), Matt Monaghan (13) and Richard Kolze (11) also hit double figures. Ryan Harris had 18 for Dundee-Crown, with teammate Sam Lynch scoring 17 (11 in the first quarter).
“We were a little slow to start,” Monaghan said. “But once we got going, we didn’t stop.”
St. Patrick coach Mike Bailey wasn’t too happy about his team’s start either.
The Shamrocks (8-1), who had a decisive height advantage with four players 6-foot-7-inches and another 6-6, trailed early to Downers Grove North, 10-8, Tuesday. That’s when things began falling right for St. Pat’s. It hit seven three-pointers to go with a solid inside game. The Shamrocks grabbed a 19-15 after one quarter and 33-20 at the half.
Then St. Pat’s showed its defensive prowess in the second quarter, holding the Trojans (3-6) to five points on 1-for-9 shooting and a total of 20 points in the second half St. Pat’s was led by Matt Marino (18), Dan Bolger (15) and David Kleinschmidt (10). Justin Behm scored 14 for the Trojans.
Jonny Reibel hit six three-pointers and scored 24 points to lead Hoffman Estates to an easy 73-48 victory over Waukegan (4-5). The win kept the Hawks perfect for the season at 9-0.
Gilles Jones scored 12 points and John Williams and John Zimny each added 10 as Glenbrook South (10-2) downed 6-5 Rolling Meadows 48-39.
