Fremd grows up quickly with victory

Fremd's young Vikings shook off Wednesday's 30-point season-opening loss and earned their first victory of the season, 60-55 over Waukegan in the 20th Annual Fremd Thanksgiving Boys Basketball Tournament.

The Vikings were a different team than the group that suffered a 75-45 setback against Bartlett in their opener.

"We're very pleased with the way the kids bounced back, both in attitude and effort," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "Wednesday, we didn't play like we practiced. Today, we played more like we practice."

"Wednesday, I guess we just had the jitters," said 6-foot-4 sophomore Chris Klimek, who led the team with 14 points. "Tonight, we came out excited and anxious to redeem ourselves."

Fremd boasted a balanced attack led by Klimek, junior guard Alex Weis (13), senior guard Dan Itami (11) and junior guard Dan Bruno (10).

The Vikings (1-1) never trailed after a putback by Bruno gave Fremd a 17-15 lead at the buzzer ending the first quarter.

The Vikings stretched the lead to 23-15 early in the second quarter and led the remainder of the contest. Their largest lead in the second half of 51-44 came after a pair of baskets by Klimek, the second a putback of a missed shot.

The Bulldogs sliced the lead to 51-50 with 3:44 left in the game on 3 consecutive baskets by Mike Springs (game-high 21 points), but a 3-pointer by junior Tim Kubis, and a free throw and basket by Bruno stretched the lead to 57-50 with 2:28 left.

Down the stretch, Fremd made enough free throws to build a two-possession lead in the final minute and didn't allow Waukegan to score after Springs' final hoop, which made it 58-55 with 49.7 seconds left.

Fremd mixed up its defenses and kept the Bulldogs (0-2) from working the ball inside with much success. On the other hand, Fremd was able to get to the basket for numerous close-in shots.

The Vikings also dominated the boards 31-24, which offset a 24-14 turnover deficit.