Third-quarter spurt lifts Fremd
When it’s a close game, basketball coaches point to how a team starts the second half as a key factor to the ultimate outcome of the game.
In the Mid-Suburban West boys matchup between Fremd and Hoffman Estates on Saturday night, it was the Vikings who played best in this important segment on their home floor.
Fremd went on an 11-0 run to begin the second half and broke open a 1-point game to run away with a 69-51 victory.
“The focus at halftime was that we were not doing a very good job of boxing out and playing defense,” Fremd coach Bob Widlowski said. “I thought we did a real nice job in the third quarter. We were very pleased with how we played. We emphasized that is how we want to play all the time. We don’t want to play in spurts.”
The Vikings forced 7 Hoffman turnovers in the third quarter, and 15 for the game. They also held the Hawks to just 7 third quarter points after allowing 30 points in the first half.
Hoffman (5-11, 0-6) senior guard Austin Terry (10 points), who is normally the Hawks catalyst, got into early foul trouble, and was on the bench for virtually the entire first half.
“Obviously teams are going to try to take Austin away, and we understand that,” Hoffman coach Luke Yanule said. “But he’s not the only weapon we have. It was more of our defense.
“We understand that if you’ve got a guy who can score, teams are going to focus on him. But we can still defend. As vital as he is to our team, we play a team defense, and our defense needs to be better.”
Senior guard Alex Bonds (16 points) and junior guard Connor Schwarz (11 points) helped spark the Hoffman offense in the first half.
“I think we underestimated some of the role players after Terry went out,” Fremd senior forward Adam Gorecki said. “We didn’t get out on the shooters. (Schwarz) is a really good shooter. They hurt us. They hit their shots.”
Offensively Fremd (11-8, 4-2) proved difficult to stop because of its balance and its ability to get the ball inside to its post players, and attack the rim with its guards.
Gorecki led the way with 15 points, and sophomore guard Riley Glassman had 14. Senior guard Garrett Peters (9 points), senior forward Nate Serviss (9 points), junior forward Sean Benka (8 points), and senior guard Matt Wisniewski (7 points) all chipped in to help the Vikings.
“We’d like to be solid defensively, and we’d like to be balanced offensively,” Widlowski said. “We’d like to make it where you have to guard five guys. I thought we did that tonight. I think that makes us a better team when we are harder to guard.”
According Yanule, Fremd only shot 4 perimeter jump shots, and that every other Viking shot came from inside the painted area that marks the free throw lane.
“We did a good job of executing the game plan in the second half of getting the ball inside,” Widlowski said.