Eager to get going, Fremd motors past Warren

The bus ride from Palatine to Mundelein couldn't have gone fast enough for the Fremd boys basketball team.

"They were really champing at the bit to get into a game," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski.

And after a sluggish first quarter against Warren at the Mundelein Boys Thanksgiving Tournament, that desire grew. The Vikings ran off 11 straight points to end the first quarter and start the second and en route to a 79-46 rout over the Blue Devils.

"The guys were very excited to get here tonight," Widlowski said. "We have practiced really hard for two weeks and they were ready to get this one going."

Fremd (1-0) used balance to put the Blue Devils away early. Four different players hit double figures from the Vikings' starting five. Only senior Luke Schoffstall (5 points) missed on that front - but her certainly helped the others by dishing out 9 assists.

"A lot of us have been playing together since fifth grade," said senior guard Kyle Sliwa. "We are always looking to get everyone involved."

After a first quarter feeling-out process that ended in a 17-17 draw, Fremd began to pull away. As part of the 11-0 run, the Vikings forced 4 Warren turnovers in consecutive possessions to start the period and turned those errors into points on other end.

A 3-point-play from Sliwa (16 points) and a bucket from Schoffstall ignited the run that ended on a running layup from Brian Dompke, giving the Vikings a 25-17 cushion.

When the run through the second quarter ended, Fremd outscored Warren 22-9 in the period on its way to a 39-26 halftime scoring edge.

"Our rebounding and defense really got us going in that second quarter," Widlowski said. "I really felt like the second quarter was key."

The Vikings opened the third quarter in much the same fashion as they closed the second. A 15-2 run keyed by senior Shaan Patel (12 points - 9 in the quarter) made the margin that much more comfortable for Fremd at 61-34 after three periods. In quarters two and three, Fremd limited Warren to just 17 total points.

"(Fremd) played at a much greater pace than we did - they just played at a much higher level than we did," said Warren coach Jon Jasnoch. "We just didn't play the way we are capable of playing tonight. I don't know why, but we just didn't."

Dompke all scorers with 18 points, 11 of which came in the first half. Junior Ryan Martin added 17 for the Vikings.

Senior Juwan Perry led Warren (1-0) with 12 points, and senior Jayson Dorsey chipped in 10 for the Blue Devils.