Boys basketball: Williams sinks buzzer-beater in OT, lifts Fremd past Palatine and into MSL West lead

Jordan Williams went to the bank Friday in overtime and deposited Fremd into sole possession of first place in the MSL West.

Williams’ shot bounced off the glass and dropped through the basket to lift Fremd to a 65-63 win over crosstown rival Palatine before a crowd of 2,300 screaming fans. Those fans had watched earlier as Palatine rallied from 22 points down.

“I made a core memory on senior night against our rivals for the No. 1 spot in the conference,” said Williams, who scored all five of the Vikings’ points in overtime to finish with 15 points.

“So, it can’t get any better than that.”

With the game tied at 63-63 and timing running out, Williams took a pass at the top of the key. He then fired up a turnaround jumper and the ball bounced off the backboard and dropped safely through the rim. The shot, which was right in front of the Fremd student section, sent the Vikings fans into delirium.

“It’s a huge game,” Fremd coach Mike Brown said. “And then obviously, you have the rivalry. We did enough there to hang together and get some stops. And Jordan carried us in overtime, which is what you want him to do, being our best player.”

The victory moved Fremd (19-2, 7-1) into sole possession of first place in the MSL West. The Vikings lead Palatine (20-4, 6-2) with each team having two conference games remaining. Palatine beat Fremd in their previous meeting in December, 53-37.

Fremd will play at Rolling Meadows next Thursday. Meadows stunned Hersey on Friday night. The Vikings then play at Hersey on the final night of the season.

The first half of Friday’s game was all Fremd. Led by the hot shooting of Tommy Moffett and Rafael Pinto, Fremd converted 15 of 20 shots from the field in the first half. That included 11 in a row as the Vikings built a 25-17 lead at the break.

Moffett was uncanny from outside the arc in the first half. The senior knocked down 6 of his 7 shots to score 20 points in the first half.

“It was my teammates finding me when I was open,” said Moffett, who would finish with 23 points. “I have shot well before. But not in a big game like this.”

Pinto also came up large in the first half, scoring 10 of his 21 points and finished with 4 three-pointers.

“My teammates and our coaching staff trusted me,” Pinto said. “When it came down to it, I was ready to shoot.”

Fremd appeared to be on its way to an easy win when Moffett scored on an offensive rebound to put the Vikings up 42-20 with 5:40 left in the third quarter.

The Pirates then began to squeeze the Vikings hard defensively with their attacking 1-2-2 three-quarter court trap. That defense began to force Fremd turnovers as Palatine slowly got back into the game.

The Pirates offense, which was nearly nonexistent in the first half, came alive as well. Brady May knocked down a trio of three-pointers in the third quarter as Palatine cut the deficit to 49-36.

Palatine increased the pressure and Tony Balanganayi began scoring inside. Trailing 54-43 with 3:20 reaming, Pirates were able to claw their way to a 54-53 deficit with 1:39 left on a three-point play by Balanganayi.

But a three-pointer by Pinto and two free throws by Chase Nelson made it 59-53 with 25.5 seconds left. Robbie Wilcox then hit a three-pointer to make it 59-56. A Moffett free throw made it 60-56 with 12.8 seconds to play.

Wilcox then rescued the Pirates and brought them all the way back. The senior nailed a three. Fremd also fouled on the play and Wilcox hit the free throw for the rare four-point play with 3.8 seconds left to eventually send the game into overtime tied at 60-60.

After a basket by Williams in overtime, Wilcox drained his fifth three-pointer to give Palatine its only lead at 63-62. A Williams free throw and a Fremd stop set the tone for the game-winner.

“That was just a battle,” Palatine coach Eric Millstone said. “I thought we showed a lot of fight coming back. They just made one more play.”

Wilcox and May each had 16 points for Palatine. Balanganayi had 14 points, Darrin Dick 10 points and Abram Williams 7 points,