Boys basketball: Fremd fends off gritty effort from Conant
Fremd found a way Friday in Hoffman Estates.
The Vikings, who had lost just two games all season, found themselves down numerous times against a stubborn and enthusiastic Conant team. But Fremd was able to reach back down the stretch and dispatch the Cougars 54-46.
The win kept Fremd (20-2, 7-1) alone atop the MSL West, a game ahead of Barrington. The two teams meet next Friday at Fremd with the West title at stake.
Vikings coach Mike Brown knew his team was in a battle with Conant (11-12, 3-5).
“They (Conant) really came ready to play,” Brown said. “They were the aggressor early in the game and they hit some tough shots early. It took us a while to figure out their defense. They had a really good game plan but we found a way to pull it out in the end.”
Conant got off to a fabulous start on both ends of the court.
Sparked by Rohan Patel, the Cougars scored the first 8 points as they spurted to a 10-2 lead. Conant also stymied Fremd on the defensive end, forcing three turnovers as the Vikings missed their first 5 field goals.
Conant built a 15-6 lead early in the second quarter on a three-pointer by Harlem Drake.
That shot may have awakened Fremd.
The cold Vikings warmed up quickly behind Jordan Williams and Rafael Pinto. Fremd knocked down 6 of their first 7 shots in the second quarter and closed to 20-19 on a basket by Pinto.
Bradley Biedke then stepped up quite nicely for the Cougars. The 6-foot-7 Biedke canned a pair of threes, then hit a rough basket inside as Conant went up 28-19.
Not to be undone, Fremd’s Tommy Moffett and Samuel Hirsch each buried a three as the Vikings trailed 28-25 at the half.
Conant got a pair of free throws from Nate Hahn and a three-pointer from Chase Francia to open the second half and lead 33-25.
The Cougars led 35-28 when Fremd made its big move. With Williams powering his team, the Vikings scored 11 unanswered points to surge ahead 39-35 with 7:30 to play.
“First half was slow and they out-toughed us,” said Williams, who scored 9 of those points. “It was like that for a lot of the game. But in the second half, we stuck through and got it done.”
It was Conant’s turn to mount a comeback and the Cougars didn’t disappoint. With Biedke battling for rebounds on the offensive end, Conant was able to pull even at 39-39.
Ryan Brown then sandwiched a pair of baskets around a layup by Williams. Those six points put Fremd up 45-39 with 4:35 left.
Conant stayed close. The Cougars went on a 7-1 run highlighted by a three-pointer by Biedke as Conant got to within 47-46 with 3:20 left.
But Pinto and Fremd shut the door on any other comebacks. Conant would fail to score from there while Pinto would tally 6 of the Vikings’ final 7 points to put the game away.
“We didn’t come out ready to play,” Pinto said. “They were ready to beat us and ready to play hard. We picked it up in the second half. Coach Brown really motivated us. We knew what we had to do and we did that in the second half.”
Williams led Fremd with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting. He also had six rebounds. Pinto had 18 points, while Ryan Brown had 5 points, all of which came in the final quarter.
“You hang together and be tough and just find a way to pull it out,” Mike Brown said. “We feel good about the end result today.”
Patel led Conant with 18 points. Biedke had 15 points and 11 rebounds while Hahn had 7 points and Drake 6 points.
“It was another great MSL West basketball game,” Conant coach Greg Grana said. “Every single MSL West game is a fight. Credit coach Brown an Fremd. I could not be more proud of our guys. It starts with our effort on defense. And that effort gets us going offensively.”