Fremd back on top at Fenton
The Fremd boys basketball team found itself in a familiar situation Friday night — in the championship game at the Chuck Mitchell Thanksgiving Tournament at Fenton High School.
The Vikings (4-0) were about able to duplicate the outcome of the 2011 title game, with a 57-38 win over Lake Park — the same team they defeated two years ago.
The win Friday night erased the sour taste the Vikings had from last season’s tourney finale loss to Proviso West.
“We won two years ago and got second last year and that’s what our seniors talked about before tonight,” Vikings coach Bob Widlowski said. “They were very concerned tonight of getting that game back from last year as juniors.
“I was proud of the competitive attitude they came out with tonight to win the contest.”
The final score was not indicative of how close the game was throughout.
Connor Vance beat the first-quarter buzzer with a heave from half-court to draw the Lancers (3-1) even after the first eight minutes. A driving layup by Sean Moore gave Lake Park a 16-14 lead in the first minute of the second period.
“Our defense really kept us in the game in the first half,” Widlowski said. “We got in some foul trouble early and our defense stepped up. Give them (Lake Park) credit, they really battled us tonight, but I thought our defense was the key.”
The defense made its presence known early in the second after the Moore bucket put the Lancers on top. The Vikings help Lake Park scoreless over the next 6:62 to turn the 2-point deficit into a 5-point lead.
“To beat a good team you have to make more shots and hit your free throws,” Lancers coach Josh Virostko said. “We had some open looks and couldn’t get the shots to fall and they were able to open up and extend their lead.”
Fremd’s leading scorer Riley Glassmann was forced to watch most of the first half from the sidelines with two quick fouls. Averaging nearly 24 points entering Friday night, Glassman was held scoreless in the first half. The Vikings’ bench then went to work.
Sophomore Patrick Benka knocked down a pair of treys in the first half as he scored 9 of his 12 points.
“A lot of people stepped up for us tonight from out bench,” Benka said. “It wasn’t just me. Our entire bench really stepped up tonight. It was a good win overall for us.”
Glassmann scored 7 of his 12 points in the third period as the Vikings were able to extend their lead to double digits and eventually put away the pesky Lancers.
“If you are trying to play catch-up against a team like Fremd you are going to get beat,” Virostko said.
Seven players scored for Lake Park, led by Moore’s 10 points. Michael Karas added 9 points in the loss.
Glassman and Benka tied for scoring honors for the Vikings, while Ben Carlson added 9 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Connor Peters chipped in with 6 points off the bench.
The Vikings doubled up the Lancers 34-17 in rebounds.