Mustangs finish big against Fremd

Rolling Meadows hopes to finish the season the way it did Tuesday night's Mid-Suburban League boys basketball crossover.

On a roll as the Mustangs scored 13 of the final 17 points of a 50-43 victory over visiting Fremd.

"I think (this) was real important because we want to build momentum for Prospect," Meadows senior Ty Kirk said of Saturday's MSL East rivalry showdown. "We want to go on a winning streak and we want the winning streak to carry on."

Kirk helped carry the Mustangs with 11 of his 15 points and a pair of 3-pointers in the final 6:45 as Meadows (8-6) won its second straight game.

And senior Kyle Gaedele can see the potential of things opening up for the Mustangs much the way his rebound and coast-to-coast drive broke a 41-41 tie and gave them the lead for good with 1:50 to play.

"We have a lot of winnable games this month," said Gaedele, who had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. "This month is real important to go on kind of a streak."

Fremd (6-9) didn't make it easy as it took an 18-9 lead midway through the second quarter and 31-29 after three on Mike Hoffman's buzzer-beating tip-in.

A 3-point play off 1 of 6 rebounds by Meadows senior reserve Joe Okon tied it at 37-37. Fremd took its last lead with 4:47 left on a rebound basket by sophomore Chris Klimek (10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists).

Then Gaedele found Kirk for the second time for a 3 and 40-39 lead against Fremd's matchup zone.

"They were doubling Kyle and leaving me open," Kirk said. "The middle of the court was wide open."

A short jumper by Fremd junior Will Reising, who scored 6 of his 8 points in the fourth quarter, tied it at 41-41 at 3:08. A 3 from the corner for the lead by Dan Bruno rattled out with two minutes left and Gaedele took care of the rest.

But equally important after Gaedele split 2 free throws was Kirk taking the miss and scoring on the baseline for a 46-41 lead at 1:25.

"The offensive rebounds in key situations were critical," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "It was a good game, a (one) possession game."

After Bruno hit a 16-footer to get Fremd within 46-43, Gaedele went 1-for-2 on free throws again with Ben Sabal grabbing the miss to buy Meadows some extra time of possession in the last minute.

"Our seniors experience and leadership down the stretch and didn't panic," said Meadows coach Kevin Katovich. "That's what you expect from seniors."