Fremd KOs Schaumburg

Fremd and Schaumburg sparred like two heavyweights in Palatine for three quarters on Friday night.

Something had to give in the fourth quarter.

Trailing Schaumburg by a point to start the quarter, the Vikings used a 12-0 run and went on to win 55-45 and took sole possession of first place in the Mid-Suburban West boys basketball race.

Charlie Rosenberg, a 6-foot-5 senior forward who scored 8 points and snared 8 rebounds, delivered the crucial blows against the Saxons (7-4, 2-1).

Rosenberg's basket on an assist from Nick Pflederer (9 points, 7 rebounds) with 6:52 left in the game gave the Vikings (8-0, 3-0) the lead for good at 39-38.

With 4:18 left in the game, Rosenberg's rebound and basket off of a missed free throw gave Fremd a commanding 45-38 lead.

"When we get to the fourth quarter," said Rosenberg, "I'm just trying to get rebounds and pick up some baskets. We needed to focus on limiting them to just one shot down the stretch. We knew they would be tough competition."

The Saxons picked a bad time to hit a cold spell when they misfired on their first 8 shots of the fourth quarter.

"We took too many quick shots," said Schaumburg coach Matt Walsh. "We didn't allow our offense to help our defense. We didn't do well at the free throw line (7-for-17).

"In the fourth quarter, (Fremd's) experience showed."

Fremd led 49-38 before Schaumburg's Declan Geraghty's scored a basket with 2:50 left.

The Vikings then hit 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch and 21-of-32 for the game.

Fremd's Chris Klimek had a game-high 16 points and Zach Monaghan returned after missing 21/2 games with a knee injury. The junior guard broke a 15-15 tie with two 3s and a free throw that held up until the Saxons took a 38-37 lead at the end of the quarter on a 3 from Johnny Kirk (8 points).

"This game came down to hustle plays and defensive stops," said Monaghan. "Coming off the bench tonight was different. Once I hit those two baskets I got into the flow."

"We rebounded well and played good defense in the fourth quarter," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "Charlie is physical out there. He's agressive and goes after the ball. It was good to have Zach back after missing those few games."