Fremd eats up Bartlett for victory No. 18
Bartlett boys basketball coach Jim Wolfsmith had a good game plan to try and break host Fremd's 17-game win streak Saturday night in Palatine.
The Hawks threw a steady diet of defenses at the Vikings - yet still ended up going hungry.
Fremd pounded its way to a 76-48 win, improving to 18-0. Bartlett, which had won 8 of its last 9, fell to 11-8.
"We stayed with them for awhile," said Wolfsmith. "After the first quarter we lost it. We made a lot of basic mistakes. We played like freshmen. You can't play like freshmen and expect to beat a team like Fremd. They shared the ball, they were focused and they carved us up. They were disciplined and we weren't."
Kyle Sliwa took charge for Fremd, scoring a game-high 31 points. Brian Dompke added 16 points and 8 rebounds. Luke Schoffstall scored 9 points and Ryan Martin 8, while Shaan Patel contributed a balanced line of 6 points, 6 assists and 7 rebounds.
"It was a great weekend for Kyle Sliwa and for Fremd basketball," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski.
Bartlett trailed 14-13 after the first quarter - but then the Fremd defense began rolling. The Hawks were outscored in the quarter 17-7, giving the Vikings a 31-20 halftime lead.
Sliwa scored 13 points in the first half and Schoffstall had 6 points.
After committing 4 turnovers in the first quarter, Fremd had just 1 in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Bartlett's 3 giveway led to 5 points for Fremd.
"Our assistant coaches did a great job on the morning walk-through, helping with what to watch for on their changing defenses," said Sliwa. "We were able to make the adjustments. This was a big weekend for us. We knew Bartlett was a good team. They are at the top of their division in their conference.
"We wanted to come out on top tonight. We knew we had to bring it today. We didn't want to lose after last night's win over Conant."
The Mid-Suburban West leaders broke away with a 13-2 spurt to start the second half and led 44-22 with 3:45 left in the quarter. Sliwa scored 11 points and Brian Dompke added 6 points in the period, which ended with Fremd on top 54-35.
Tomas Vikonis led Bartlett with 14 points and Ben Fisher had 10.
"Our seniors showed that for tonight's game that they were were focused and took charge on defense," said Widlowski. "They also adjusted to Bartlett's changing defense. The key, though, tonight is that we shared the ball and were committed as a group to play defense."
Patel gladly took the hard-hat, lunch-pail role with his all-around play.
"Shaan showed how versatile he is," said Widlowski. "He can play several different positions in the post. He's very effective."
"Shaan does so much for us," said Sliwa. "He's really a great passer. I've played ball with him since fourth grade."
"We have a lot of scorers on the team," said Patel. "I've fallen into the role on this team to be a passer and help inside. We all play together - which adds up to 18-0."