Warren wins fourth straight Fremd title
Fremd found itself in position to win against Warren in Saturday's final game of Fremd's Thanksgiving boys basketball tournament, but the visiting Blue Devils surged ahead on the strength of 8 fourth-quarter points from Brandon Paul and 5 from Jason Warneke and held on for a 45-41 victory and their fourth consecutive championship.
Paul tied the game at 33 with a dunk at the 5:40 mark in the fourth quarter and made the critical points down the stretch, a basket with 43.9 seconds left and free throws with 13.2 seconds remaining.
"We're disappointed we lost the game," Fremd coach Bob Widlowski said. "We were in position to win. Our guys gave a very good effort, but we missed some execution that gave them the advantage."
"I felt they were more aggressive on the boards," said Warren coach Chuck Ramsey. "They outrebounded us 24-15. We had 9 defensive rebounds, and they had 10 offensive rebounds. Those are things that have to get better."
The Vikings' matchup zone was effective in the first half, limiting the Blue Devils (3-0) to 7 points in each of the first two quarters. Warren began to crack the code in the second half and was able to get the ball inside at times.
"We weren't attacking it well, so there was no reason for them to get out of it," Ramsey said.
"They run a different type of defense," said Warneke. "After the first half, we got used to it. You've got to move and cut against it."
The Vikings (1-2 for third place in the tournament) led 16-14 at halftime and fought back from a 21-16 deficit in the third quarter to lead 29-26 after three.
Sophomore Charlie Rosenberg scored 4 points and five different Vikings scored in that 13-6 run.
Paul finished with a game-high 16 points, and Taylor Erbach scored 11.
"It was a team effort to locate (Paul) wherever he was on the court," Widlowski said of the Blue Devils' leading scorer, who had 28 Friday against Bartlett.
Widlowski said the game with Warren was great preparation for the upcoming Mid-Suburban League grind.
"I told the kids that's how it's gonna be every single game in the MSL," Widlowski said.
Bartlett 66, Waukegan 51: Looking back at its performance in the Fremd Thanksgiving Tournament, Bartlett (2-1) discovered that its height, depth, clutch shooting, defensive ability, rebounding power and composure will likely carry its young team a long way this season.
It was all on display in the Hawks' tournament finale Saturday night, a 66-51 win over a gritty Waukegan team that gave the Hawks some problems with their quickness. But it wasn't enough to offset the Hawks aforementioned attributes that enabled them to forge a far superior shooting percentage.
But the best part for the Hawks was that they didn't have to rely on any one player all three nights of the tournament. Everyone chipped in, making big plays.
"Our kids can play," said Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith. "They were able to get some stops. We have a boatload of kids who could play anywhere else."
When the Hawks needed it, their boatload stayed above water. When game high-scorer Rashaan Melvin of Waukegan (24 points) kept shooting the Bulldogs back into it, the Hawks took turns holding them off.
Bartlett junior forward Mike Selvaggi carried his team through a tough stretch in the second and third quarters, scoring on the fastbreak and three times inside en route to 10 points.
Junior center Kamil Janton was everywhere, converting putbacks, drawing fouls and hitting free throws en route to 15 points. Sophomore guard Luke Labedski paced the team with 18, showing a deft mid-range shooting touch and running the floor well for opportunity baskets.
Bartlett's starter at point guard, sophomore Frankie Cleope, was double-teamed into some turnovers by Waukegan. But those same double-team also left people like Labedski open.
"That was a huge 3 he hit out of the corner," Wolfsmith said of an early fourth-quarter shot Labedski hit to open the lead back up to 10.
Throw in two clutch fourth-quarter hoops apiece by Janton and 6-5 junior forward Cory Hrynyk (15 points) and the Hawks have every reason to believe they're ready for their conference opener next weekend against Neuqua Valley.
-- Howard Schlossberg