Fremd powers by Palatine

It wasn't quite a perfect half of boys basketball, but it was close enough.

Fremd's offense and defense were nearly flawless in the first half of its 66-36 Mid-Suburban West victory over visiting cross-town rival Palatine on Friday.

The Vikings (21-1, 9-0) scored 37 points in the half, while holding the visiting Pirates (8-15, 3-6) to just 12, outrebounding them 20-13, and committing just 1 turnover.

"We came out with a very good attitude, and we executed at both ends of the floor," Fremd coach Bob Widlowski said. "The defense did a real solid job for us."

"They've done that a few times this year," Palatine coach Eric Millstone said. "They were clicking on all cylinders. They're probably playing their best basketball of the year."

Zach Monaghan led Fremd with 27 points, 15 in the first half, on 8-of-16 shooting, 4-of-9 from behind the arc, including a couple of 3-pointers beyond NBA range. Jack Konopka was a force under the basket, scoring 11 points. All 5 of his baskets came after offensive rebounds.

"They've got a lot of weapons," Millstone said. "They got some horses underneath."

Those big guys gave the Vikings a 45-30 rebounding advantage.

Fremd turned an 8-5 lead with 2:56 left in the first quarter into a 23-6 margin at the 6:37 mark in the second. Monaghan led the way with 9 points in that 15-1 run.

"I just got into the flow of the game," Monaghan said. "The Fremd-Palatine game always gets you going.

"With (Nick) Pflederer out (ankle) and Chris Klimek in foul trouble, we had to step up and do a little more."

"Our captains have done a nice job of keeping them focused on the task at hand," Widlowski said. "That's been big for us."

Konopka and Jeff Chappell were two of those who did just that. Chappell scored 9 points and earned praise from Widlowski.

"Tonight Jeff played real well and was very poised," Widlowski said. "I'm very pleased with how he played."

And he's never surprised at what Monaghan can do on the basketball court.

"Zach had a good all around game, and he did last Saturday (at Leyden), too," Widlowski said.

Nat Pearson and Mykyta Cheshko led Palatine with 10 points each. The Pirates host Vernon Hills today, and Fremd hosts Round Lake.