Boys basketball: Fremd edges Deerfield in OT to win Lakes MLK tournament
Fremd’s Jordan Williams smiled through his split lip.
“It was very tough to get inside today,” Williams said. “They have a lot of height and they were very physical.”
Williams and his Fremd teammates out-battled and outlasted a spirited and physical Deerfield squad 55-54 Monday in overtime in the championship games at the Lakes MLK tournament Monday in Lake Villa.
It was the second Lakes MLK tournament championship in a row for Fremd (18-2). It was also their third title in the last four years, with the Vikings playing in the championship game in all of those years.
It was also Fremd’s second tournament championship win over Deerfield. The Vikings beat the Warriors 56-44 in the title game of the Wheeling Hardwood Classic just 24 days ago.
“For a 2:30 game on a Monday and two teams that played each other, that was a heck of a game,” Fremd coach Mike Brown said. “I am proud of kids fighting back and being resilient and being tough. Because that game presented a lot of challenges and Deerfield kept on punching us and we found a way to withstand it. “
Williams said Deerfield (13-6) played the Vikings tough both times.
“They were doing a great job of making everything difficult,” said Williams, who finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds. “Coming into this game we knew this was the second round. It was a rematch and we knew nothing was going to come easy to us.”
Fremd got off to a great start thanks to three-pointers by Rafael Pinto, Tommy Moffett and Ryan Brown. The Vikings also picked up baskets from Jordan Williams and Chase Nelson to build a 13-7 lead.
Deerfield’s Evan Nagler nailed a pair of threes and had a layup as Deerfield pulled ahead 15-13 after a quarter. The Warriors scored two more baskets to close out a 12-0 run and led 19-13, and were up 27-26 at halftime, and the game was tied at 38 after three quarters.
After Fremd went up on a free throw by Pinto, Deerfield ran off five consecutive points to lead 43-39 with 5:05 left.
Fremd went outside the arc to get back on top. Moffett and Brown drilled treys as the Vikings piled ahead 45-43 with 2:54 left. But Deerfield was able to pull even at 45-45 on a basket by Jake Pollack with 46 seconds left as the game went to overtime.
Fremd again went long to take the lead for good. Moffett and Samuel Hirsch each hit threes as Fremd pulled ahead 51-47. The Vikings looked like they had a comfortable lead at 54-49 with 14.8 seconds left.
“I missed two free throws,” said Hirsch, who finished with 10 points, five of which came in overtime. “But I had to make sure I locked in and hit the other two.”
Nagler made a driving layup just 5 seconds later to make it 54-51, then Williams’ free throw at 7.8 put Fremd up 4. Pollack drilled a three with 1.8 seconds before Fremd successfully inbounded the ball to end the game.
Fremd, which converted 11 three-pointers, got 11 points from Pinto while Moffett and Ryan Brown each had 9 points.
Deerfield was led by Pollack’s 18 points, Nagler’s 16 points and Sam Hanus’ 11 points.
“I thought both teams had moments here and there that we would like to get back,” Deerfield coach Dan McKendrick said. “But it was a fun game. They are tough to beat.”