Second-quarter surge lifts Fremd

Call it tightening the screws, turning up the heat or playing opportunistic defense.

Host Fremd's second-quarter performance turned out to be the deciding factor in a 58-42 Mid-Suburban West boys basketball victory Friday over Hoffman Estates.

The win, coupled with Palatine's 49-46 win against Conant, boosts Fremd (10-6, 3-1) into a tie with Conant for the division lead going into their matchup next Saturday.

"The difference was the second quarter when we had 10 stops in a row," Fremd coach Bob Widlowski said. "We got them stuck on 11 (points) for a while."

Hoffman (3-11, 0-4) led 11-10 after the first quarter, thanks to 6 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field by Eric Saubert (12 points). A pair of 3-point plays by Jack Konopka (15 points) brought Fremd back from an 8-2 deficit to tie the game, and Austin Terry's 3-pointer gave Hoffman its first-quarter lead.

"The second quarter was the whole game," Hoffman coach Bill Wandro said. "We weren't aggressive, which led to turnovers and easy points. We had a great first quarter."

The prime mover for Fremd was Quinton Brown, who scored 10 of his 15 points in the second quarter, including baskets off 2 of his 5 steals. Hoffman committed 8 turnovers in that stretch.

"In the first quarter, we didn't come out with enough intensity," Brown said. "I just wanted to frustrate them, and I just happened to get the steals."

"He did a great job tonight," teammate Zach Monaghan said. "He applied pressure, anticipated passes and got in the passing lanes."

Fremd outscored Hoffman 18-1, turning the 11-10 deficit into a 28-12 lead with 2:19 left in the half. The Vikings led 33-19 at halftime.

Monaghan scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, and Fremd kept the Hawks at a distance, leading 43-28 after three quarters.

"We knew Hoffman was going to slow it down," Monaghan said. "It was a total team effort tonight."

"When we have three guys scoring in double digits, we're very hard to guard," Widlowski said.

The defensive work by Ken Leonard won't show up in the box score, but he held the explosive Terry to 12 points, coming off a career high 29 points against Buffalo Grove. Leonard contributed 7 rebounds, including 3 on the offensive end.

"I was most pleased holding Terry to 12 points," Widlowski said. "I'm very pleased with (Leonard's) effort."