Frundt, Bulldogs burst onto scene at Elgin Holiday tourney

Editor's note: The following was first published Dec. 21 2004

Batavia entered the 30th annual Elgin Holiday Tournament intent on rebounding from a 4-point loss to undefeated Yorkville on Friday night.

The Bulldogs didn't just rebound on the scoreboard as they won Monday morning's tournament opener 67-54 over Buffalo Grove at Chesbrough Field House.

Seventeen rebounds by 6-foot-4 freshman Nick Fruendt were just 2 less than BG's entire team. Fruendt's total was five shy of the single-game tourney record by Hubbard's Othyus Jeffers in 2002 and the 42 by Batavia (6-3) was 4 off the team mark by Schaumburg in 1977.

"Nick and Jeff (Roeske) were solid on the rebounding,'' said 6-1 junior Rashad Mitchell, who led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points.

Roeske, a 6-5 junior, had 7 rebounds and Mitchell wasn't too bad himself with 9. Batavia had 18 offensive rebounds as it moved into today's 3:15 p.m. winner's bracket second-round game against Fremd (5-4), which upset third-seed Highland Park 48-45.

"We always talk about five guys getting on the glass and that's the way it was today,'' said Batavia coach Jim Roberts.

Batavia took the lead for good at 45-44 with 1:29 left in the third when Mitchell hit a baseline pullup. Will's short turnaround got BG within 49-48 with 6:40 left.

After Roeske split 2 free throws, Mitchell stole an outlet pass and found Fruendt for a layup as Batavia went on a 10-2 run to take control.

• Waukegan came into Wednesday's Elgin Tournament semifinal with a senior-dominated lineup and a glitzy 10-1 record.

Batavia entered at 7-3 and making steady progress with its much younger starting lineup of four juniors and a freshman.

But for most of the game it was hard to tell who had all the experience. Batavia led from the second quarter until early in the fourth, then traded blows throughout a back-and-forth final period before coming up on the short end of a 75-71 final score.

Waukegan (11-1) will play Glenbrook South for the tournament championship at 8:15 p.m. today. The Bulldogs (7-4) will battle Wheaton North for third at 6:30 p.m.

Waukegan's only loss this year came to another highly regarded team, Warren, in a game Waukegan led by 9 at halftime.

"It's frustrating that we didn't get a win but our kids did a good job as the game wore on competing in every aspect of the game," Batavia coach Jim Roberts said.

Freshman Nick Fruendt led all scorers with 26 points, including a sensation streak to start the second half. He scored Batavia's first 12 points of the third quarter making all 5 of his shots including two 3-pointers to give the Bulldogs a 47-40 lead.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Fruendt picked up his third foul on the next play and went to the bench with 5:05 left in the third quarter. He had 24 points at that point but only scored two more the rest of the game.

"(Fruendt) played a big-time game," Waukegan coach Brian Colbert said. "He's really going to have a great high school career to look forward to. He hit some big shots that kept them in the game."

Batavia took a 55-52 lead to the fourth quarter but Waukegan quickly tied the game. Bulldogs guard Steve Ideran scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. His 3-pointer tied the game at 60-60, his three-point play gave Batavia its last lead at 65-62, and he made a pair of free throws with 1:38 remaining to cut Waukegan's lead to 69-67.

Fruendt then came up with his fourth steal of the night and scored to tie the game at 69. A late call on a close charge/block play sent Laron Frazier to the line, and he made both free throws to give Waukegan the lead for good 71-69.

"We dodged a bullet," Colbert said. "Give Batavia credit. They came here with a will that they wanted to play in the championship as much as we did. I was very impressed with their effort."