Fremd paces itself in victory at Barrington

Fremd showed it can be dangerous at any speed.

The Vikings, who led early during a very deliberate pace by both teams, sped play up early in the second quarter and pulled away from his Barrington 55-39 Friday in Mid-Suburban West boys basketball.

"We came out a little rusty," said Kyle Sliwa, who finished with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. "It took us a quarter to get going. Once we got going, it was the same as before."

The victory kept Fremd (14-0, 4-0) unbeaten this season and still alone atop the MSL West.

Fremd coach Bob Widlowski said Sliwa kept the game moving for the Vikings.

"He played a complete game tonight," Widlowski said. "He did a nice job defensively and took what they gave him offensively."

Fremd led just 8-4 after the first quarter. But after the Vikings moved the game into another gear, they opened up a 25-15 halftime lead, limiting Barrington to 5-of-16 shooting.

"I thought a 15-point first half defensively was a very nice effort on our part," Widlowski said. "We limited their looks and made it difficult for them to score."

Widlowski said the start of the second half was huge for the Vikings when they went on an 8-3 run to open a 33-18 advantage with 3:53 left in the third quarter.

"The start of the second half was key for us," Widlowski said. "We got some transition baskets and that led to us extending our lead."

But thanks to to the play of Jackson Perkins, who finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, Barrington (9-5, 1-3) would not go away.

The Broncos got to within 10 points twice in the fourth quarter. But a driving basket by Fremd's Ryan Martin and a steal followed by dunk by Brian Dompke ended the Broncos' threat.

"I just see an open gap and try to attack it," said Martin, who finished with 11 points.

Dompke, who after his steal in the backcourt, took the ball the distance for a jam that sent his team into a frenzy.

"I just saw the lane and took it," said Dompke, who finished with 10 points. "It was fun."

Widlowski said that his team, which shot 56 percent (22-of-39), continually looks to get better.

"We are always looking for ways to improve," Widlowski said. "I think that the kids are focused on those things and trying to get better every week."

Barrington coach Bryan Tucker, whose team shot 32 percent (12-of-37), said layups were the key.

"How many layups did we miss?" Tucker said. "And we had breakdowns on defense where they got layups. They are just too good of a team to give them easy baskets."

Luke Schoffstall had 8 points for Fremd while Anthony Spann and Jake Parsons each had 8 points for Barrington.