Bruno bolsters Fremd past Hoffman
Fremd junior point guard Danny Bruno and his basketball team don't like to be reminded of the past.
Starting the year at 1-4, which included a crucial loss to cross-town rival Palatine last weekend, the Vikings have been looking for ways to put the past few games behind them and concentrate on the future.
Nothing quite alleviates the pain like a much-needed home court win against a conference rival.
Falling behind only twice, Fremd (2-4, 1-1) held off a late charge by Hoffman Estates and came away with the 39-32 Mid-Suburban West win Thursday night.
"I've been winning my whole life," Bruno said. "We were 1-4 this year and I just wanted to come out and get a win on our home court."
Bruno certainly did his part in helping the Vikings pick up the crucial win by leading all scorers with 17 points.
"(Bruno) gives us a lot of energy and leadership," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "That really shined through tonight. He brings a really good attitude and that kind of sets the pace for us."
Trailing 5-0, the Vikings would close out the first quarter on a 9-0 run.
Fremd would remain ahead until early in the fourth, when Hoffman (3-3, 1-1), led by the strong-willed effort of junior guard Luke Mead (6 points), tied the contest at 26-26.
The resilient Vikings however, would not accept defeat, as they stifled the Hawks with tenacious defense and timely rebounding.
"(My players) did a good job of recognizing Mead in the half court and eliminating his looks," said Widlowski. "I thought we got some big rebounds down the stretch as well."
The Vikings received an enormous spark off their bench from senior Dan Itami, who single-handedly kept his team in the game with a 3-pointer and 2 late steals.
"This win was huge," said Itami. "We needed to win this game because of the losses to Palatine and Wheeling.
"I was hurt earlier this week, but I thought everybody stepped up and played hard. This was by far our best defensive performance of the year."
The Vikings also were aided down the stretch by sophomore forward Chris Klimek, who in addition to scoring 11 points and grabbing 5 rebounds, hit 2 clutch free throws with less than a minute to play.
Hoffman coach Bill Wandro realizes there will be many ups and downs because of the evenly-matched nature of the MSL West.
"It's going to be a season where one team looks bad against one opponent, and then that opponent will turn around to beat the other guys," said Wandro.
"I think it's awful early to say that 1-1 is going to kill you in the conference. We just have to be smarter when we are in a position to win the game."