Bulldogs too much for Fremd
People say defense wins championships. It obviously played a part Friday night while in Waukegan's Thanksgiving Tournament as the hosts beat Fremd 73-48.
From the beginning of the game, the Bulldogs came out in multiple defensive schemes to record 15 steals - 9 in the first half. The Bulldogs ran a fast-paced offense, looking quicker in every aspect than the Vikings, as they scored the first 11 points.
Senior Collin Nickerson, who committed to Fairfield University, was the high scorer as he overcame foul trouble for 16 of his 21 points in the seond half. Junior Illinois recruit Jereme Richmond put up double-double numbers in points and rebounds.
"You always got to come out strong and always got to pick it up like practice," said Nickerson of the second half, "we have great chemistry because we've been playing together since we were in fourth grade."
In the second half the Vikings would play close to an equal level of scoring after only putting 19 points on the board in the first, but the deficit was too much for them to string together a run.
"There were more turnovers in the game than big baskets," said Vikings coach Bob Widlowski, "They [Bulldogs] did a nice job with pressure and we didn't handle it well."
The Vikings (0-2) will finish the tourney at 4:30 p.m. today with Bartlett, which lost 86-82 in overtime to Warren on Friday. The Bulldogs (2-0) will play Warren.
Chris Klimek had 11 points and Joey Depaolis added 10 points for Fremd.