Palatine 46, Fremd 39

A year ago Matt Wieber decided to work as a cashier at Jewel instead of play basketball for Palatine.

On Friday night, Wieber's work down the stretch helped the Pirates cash in with a 46-39 victory over visiting cross-town rival Fremd before more than 2,000 in their Mid-Suburban West opener.

"I had a lot of things going on and it was a big mistake not being with these guys," Wieber said. "It was a bad decision."

Palatine (2-2, 1-0) is glad Wieber changed his mind. The 6-foot-1 senior reserve had 2 offensive rebounds, hit a tying 3-pointer and drew a charging foul in a 14-2 tear the final four minutes.

"He just didn't feel he could help the team," said Palatine coach Ed Molitor. "I saw him around Christmas-time (last year) and he said he made a huge mistake and said, 'Can I come back?'

"He's just a great kid and I said, 'Absolutely.' He made a significant contribution."

So did 6-6 senior Monroe Brooks (11 points, 10 rebounds) and junior guard Mark Knoeppel off the bench for the Pirates.

Dan Itami's 3-pointer sparked an 11-0 third-quarter run that put Fremd (1-3, 0-1) up 32-25. A rebound basket by Will Reising (13 points) and 3 by Dan Bruno made it 37-32 with 4:14 left.

"I told our kids the great thing was you kept your patience and didn't let your effort stop," Molitor said. "It didn't keep you from doing the things that help you win games."

And Wieber's offensive rebounds led to his tying 3 from the right corner off Josh Castellano's feed with 2:11 left.

"My teammates got me open and there wasn't much left (to do) after that," Wieber said of his first varsity 3.

Josh Rustman (11 points) put Palatine ahead to stay with 2 free throws at 1:34. Wieber drew a charge to wipe out Bruno's potential tying layup at 1:02.

"Our failure to execute offensively was the difference," Fremd coach Bob Widlowski said of 3 turnovers in Palatine's big finish. "We weren't playing together as a team at that point."

Bruno's drive at 0:46 got Fremd within 41-39. The Pirates closed it out on a drive by Gerald Hutton, 2 free throws by Castellano after a steal and Wieber's free throw.

"A year ago we wouldn't have won this game," Molitor said.

A year ago the Pirates didn't have Matt Wieber.