Barch, Jacobs able to hold back Fremd
Trailing 45-44 with 23 seconds to play at Jacobs, winless Fremd had possession and a chance to pull off the upset.
During the preceding timeout Vikings coach Bob Widlowski called for a play to the right side of the court to either guard Dan Bruno (9 points) or 6-foot-4 forward Chris Klimek (14 points).
But the Jacobs defense sagged off and denied the right side, forcing Fremd to reverse the ball to its second option on the play. That option was sophomore Quinton Brown, who was elevated from the sophomore team this week to add quickness.
Playing in his first varsity game, Brown was initially covered at the elbow by Jacobs junior Mike Barch on the key play.
"Coach (Jim Hinkle) put me on (Brown) and I'm not the quickest on the floor, so I was a little confused at first," Barch said. "I just wanted to stay in front of him and, sure enough, he drove right past me."
Brown indeed got a step on Barch and drove for a layup attempt with 10 seconds remaining, but Barch recovered, leapt and swatted the shot away to teammate Conrad Krutwig in the corner.
"I just tried to get back as fast as I could, jumped at the right time and I blocked his shot," Barch said.
"I thought Quinton was ahead of him and had the rim," Widlowski said, "but the kid came from behind, and I thought there was some contact there. He took the ball hard to the basket. I thought he had the corner on him."
Krutwig passed the rebound to sophomore point guard Mike Peterson, who was fouled with 4 seconds left and sank both free throws to give Jacobs a 47-44 lead.
Fremd inbounded, but a desperation shot from Klimek from two steps across the midcourt line didn't find iron as the clock expired, keeping the Vikings winless at 0-7 and giving the Golden Eagles (5-2) their third victory in four days and second in 17 hours.
Hinkle said he assigned the 6-2 Barch to defend Brown because of his long arms, which allow him to guard perimeter shooters and forwards alike.
"He is the best athlete on our team, and he might be the best basketball player on our team," Hinkle said.
Barch's crucial block allowed Jacobs to survive a game in which it was plagued by foul trouble. The Vikings led 15-9 after one quarter, but the Golden Eagles outscored Fremd 23-13 in the second quarter behind 7 points from Krutwig, 6 from Barch and 5 from Peterson. However, Krutwig picked up his third personal foul midway through the period and was relegated to the bench.
Jacobs led 32-28 at the half and pushed that lead to 37-29 on Krutwig's spin move in the lane for a layup with 6:23 left in the third quarter. But with 5:02 left Klimek drew a fourth foul on Peterson while scoring on a putback and induced Krutwig's fourth foul on Fremd's next possession.
With those two starters on the bench, Fremd went on a 9-1 run to tie the game at 38 with 48 seconds left in the third period.
Jacobs took a 43-38 lead on 2 Tim Moran free throws and a 3-pointer by Patton Hofer, but Brown scored on a layup, then sank a jump shot to pull the Vikings back within 43-42.
Peterson, who scored 12 points, gave Jacobs some cushion with a long 2-pointer from the baseline, but Fremd stayed within 45-44 when Klimek snared his 10th rebound of the second half and scored on the putback with 1:12 to play.
The Vikings' final possession was set up when Jacobs missed a bonus free throw with 41 second to play that was rebounded by Klimek (14 points, 15 rebounds).