Four-point finale favors Fremd
Kyle Sliwa turned it into a four-for-all for Fremd's boys basketball team on Friday night.
Sliwa drained a step-back 3 with 12.2 second left to play to pull Fremd into a 41-41 tie with Conant. And when a foul was called on Conant for knocking Sliwa to the ground on the play, Sliwa calmly sank the free throw for the rare 4-point play and a 42-41 lead.
The Vikings then survived a pair of Conant shots in the final 3 seconds as Fremd claimed a 42-41 victory in Palatine.
The victory kept Fremd unbeaten at 17-0, and 6-0 in the MSL West. And with a 48-37 victory over Conant (14-4, 4-2) back in December, it puts Fremd firmly in the driver's seat to capture the MSL West title.
"It was a shot that I shoot a lot during the warmups, mostly for fun," said Sliwa, who had 15 points, including four 3s. "I never really used it in a game before. They were closing down hard on me. Once I saw them jump, I knew I was going to shoot it."
With Sliwa on the ground and the Fremd student section, which had been quiet throughout the night until this point but now in a frenzy, made it difficult to hear the official make the foul call.
"It was so loud and so chaotic in there," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski, who had the play develop right in front of him. "I don't think anyone heard it. He said he was signaling the 3-point field goal first, and then he made the call."
Conant coach Tom McCormack said he, his staff and players were not sure about the foul call until Sliwa went to the line.
"It came down to one play, a 4-point play," McCormack said. "We didn't even know they were shooting a free throw when we went to the bench. Nobody told us there was a foul on the play."
Conant, which led nearly the entire fourth quarter, appeared to be in command in the final minute. The Cougars had the ball and enjoyed a 39-36 lead when disaster struck.
But the Vikings trapped at center court and an errant pass was stolen by Sliwa, who quickly passed downcourt to a wide open Brian Dompke. He converted an easy layup to cut the lead to 39-38 with 48 seconds to play.
Fremd almost had a second steal, but the Vikings were called for a foul. Ryan Davis dropped a pair of free throws to make it 41-38 with 26.8 seconds left to play.
Sliwa's 4-point play and a pair of defensive stops by the Vikings sent them to the locker room with the improbable victory.
"I thought we gave a determined effort to give us a chance to win the game," Widlowski said. "We stayed focused when we were down. Our seniors stayed composed and moved on to the next play quickly."
Conant did a terrific job of getting the ball down on the low post to their big men, 6-foot-9 Michael Downing and the 6-9 Davis. Downing finished with 15 points while Davis had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Fremd's Ryan Martin, with some help from Shaan Patel, kept Conant guard Jimmy Sotos in check all night, limiting Sotos to 2 points.
"Overall, Martin did a fantastic job on Sotos," Widlowski said. "That's a very tough guard because Sotos is a very good player and we have a lot of respect for him."
Luke Schoffstall had 11 points for Fremd while Dompke and Patel each had 6 points. Ben Schols chipped in 6 points for Conant on a pair of 3s.
"There were some things going on out there that were beyond our control," McCormack said. "I thought their kids battled and our kids battled, and I thought we controlled what we could control."