Fourth time the charm for Fremd
Fremd was determined not to find out how difficult it felt to be beaten by the same team four times in one season.
And the Vikings knew where their chance to avenge three regular-season losses would be determined when they faced the hosts Wednesday night in the Class 4A boys basketball regional semifinal at Hoffman Estates.
No. 11 Fremd allowed only 24 points through three quarters and 37 points the first 30 minutes as it knocked off the No. 7 Hawks 59-47.
"It was there the whole game tonight," said sophomore Zach Monaghan, who scored a game-high 20 points, of the Vikings' defense which held Hoffman to 31 percent shooting (16-for-51) and 5-for-20 on 3-pointers.
"Our defense was the biggest key," said 6-foot-4 junior Chris Klimek, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Fremd (12-14) had allowed 55, 63 and 60 points in losses to Hoffman (18-10).
But 4 turnovers fueled a 10-point run that bridged the first two quarters and put the Vikings ahead to stay and on their way to Friday's 7:30 p.m. regional final and a chance to avenge a 73-48 November loss to No. 2 Waukegan (21-4).
"We knew if we could stop them (Hoffman) and get some fastbreak opportunities we'd be in good shape," said Fremd senior point guard Danny Bruno, who scored 11 points and ran an offense that had only 2 first-half turnovers.
Klimek's diving steal for a loose ball led to Monaghan's breakout to fuel the early run. Fremd led 18-10 when Tim Kubis scored in transition off a Quinton Brown feed and 1 of Will Reising's 7 rebounds.
Kubis, Brown and Monaghan also limited Hoffman's Luke Mead to 12 points on 3-for-12 shooting. Mead sat the entire second quarter with 2 fouls and scored 10 points in the fourth.
"We were much more sound defensively this time," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "Kubis did a nice job off the bench guarding Mead for some long minutes.
"I thought we played well all the way around."
Bruno provided a big boost when he went 1-on-1 and beat the halftime buzzer with a turnaround 15-foot jumper to make it 26-19.
"That was sweet," Klimek said after the Vikings shot 57 percent (20-for-35). "That's how it was going for us tonight. Everything was going right."
It continued that way as Monaghan nailed three straight 3s - the last from 27 feet - in the third to help Fremd build a 50-32 lead with 4:43 left.
Charlie Rosenberg also came off the bench to grab 5 rebounds for Fremd. Tom Dombrowski added 8 points for Hoffman in its fourth straight loss.
"Give Fremd credit, they did all the right things at the right time," said Hoffman coach Bill Wandro. "It's something we knew was in them all along."