Fremd rolls by Round Lake

While Fremd has its sights set well beyond Friday’s regional basketball game with visiting Lake Forest, the Vikings (18-9) aren’t looking past the upset-primed Scouts either.

“They’re a good team. They’re solid all around,” said shooting guard Zach Monaghan, whose 20 points led everybody in Wednesday night’s 57-17 semifinal rout of Round Lake (7-22).

“Lake Forest is playing very well right now,” said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski, whose team plans to deal with the Scouts (13-15) the same way they did Wednesday night with the Panthers: Defense.

Round Lake shot just 6-for-43 from the field, and just 1-for-15 in the first quarter. The Panthers actually had some good looks, they just didn’t knock them down.

Fremd did. Playing on their home floor, the Vikes looked comfortable and confident, especially point guard Quinton Brown, who got everyone going on the defensive end with his intensity.

“Quinton Brown really started us off,” said Widlowski, who sensed the 5-foot-9 senior’s eagerness well before the game began. “We came out with a real good defensive attitude tonight.”

Brown only had 10 points, but was infectious in yielding only low-percentage shots in Fremd’s man-to-man and darting everywhere to help out and cause mayhem.

“Quinton Brown really started us off,” said Monaghan. “He was really key.”

Thanks to him, Monaghan in good part was able to get open for his perimeter stroke and a few leaping leaners while Jack Konopka (13 points), after starting slow, was able to get position and use his big frame to get to the rim. It was 14-2 after one quarter after Riley Glassman added a 3-pointer for Fremd off the bench. With Jim Scharfe, Ken Leonard and Monaghan joining Brown in ballhawking, the game quickly ran away from Round Lake.

Round Lake coach Jimmy Roberts summed up his team’s predicament.

“Just put the ball in the basket,” he said afterward.

If just a few more early shots had gone down, and several did rim out, he felt his team, and the game, would’ve been more competitive.

“If some of those early shots go in, it changes everything for our kids.”

Junior guard Daniel Uriostegui paced the Panthers with 9 points, including a third-quarter trey. Only Juddon Carter, Nick Lange and Eddie Acevedo also scored, although Lange did block 3 shots early on.

But now it’s on to tangle with a Lake Forest team tomorrow night for Fremd — the same Lake Forest team that upset Zion-Benton here Tuesday night.

“They have a lot of kids who can score,” said Widlowski.