Fremd dominates in Lakes MLK tourney final
Fremd’s big three came up with a big one for the Vikings in Lake Villa Monday.
Ryan Cox, Sam Hirsch and Jordan Williams combined for 49 points as Fremd rolled past Normal West 65-37 in the championship game of the Lakes MLK tournament. Fremd had also beaten Waukegan Saturday and Lakes back in December to capture the championship trophy.
“I thought we came with a great attitude on both ends of the floor,” said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski, whose team used a pair of 16-0 runs in each half to blow the game wide open and go to a running clock.
“They executed the game plan. We had a good focus on our walk-through and they brought it to the court.”
It was Fremd’s third consecutive trip to the finals of the tournament. The Vikings (12-6) lost in the title game last year to Glenbrook North and beat Naperville Central two years ago.
Williams, who was named to the all-tournament team this year, said he has wanted to win a tournament title for the Vikings. Williams, who is a sophomore, had 9 of his 15 points in the second quarter to help Fremd pull away.
“Going into the third quarter I just wanted to take over and impact the game,” said Williams, who also finished with six rebounds. “I just really wanted to win this tournament. I haven't won anything yet with Fremd, and I wanted to make the most of this opportunity.”
Fremd blitzed Normal West (7-14) in the first quarter to open up a 19-5 lead. Both Cox and Hirsch each hit a pair of three-pointers as the Vikings ran off 16 unanswered points.
“We fell short last year,” said Cox, who finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds. “But we played very well as a team today. I think that is our best team game we have had. Our ball distributing was real good and obviously we were knocking down some shots.”
Led by Nate Moore, who finished with 11 points, Normal West got the Fremd lead to 33-25 with 6:43 left in the third quarter.
That's when the Vikings had their second huge run. Led by Williams and Hirsch, suddenly it was 49-25 with 1:29 left in the third quarter.
“When we move the ball, we just get a lot of open threes,” said Hirsch, who had five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points.
“We all knocked them down today. When we get stops, we just push. That just gives us open shots and easy buckets.”
Fremd, which drilled 10 three-pointers, got four points each from Daniel Ko and Ryan Brown, who also had five rebounds. James Moffett and Rafael Pinto each had three points.
“We have been playing better,” Widlowski said. “We want to continue to keep getting better going forward as we head towards the playoffs.”