Youthful Vikings look to improve
Maybe the best thing about Bartlett's 75-45 season-opening victory Wednesday night over Fremd was both teams expect to get better.
A lot better.
Bartlett's first eight players in its rotation were all underclassmen as were six of Fremd's first eight. And it was a competitive game into the third quarter when the Hawks used a 13-6 run to close the period and open a 50-34 lead that would never be less than double-figures again.
The Hawks blew it open on the perimeter shooting of junior forward Cory Hrynyk and the hustle at both ends by Derrick Coleman off the bench.
They had already established control under the basket at both ends on the strength of their Air Force-wingspan like zone and full-court pressure thanks to the height of Hrynyk (6-foot-5), junior center Kamil Janton (6-9) and junior forward Mike Selvaggi (6-4).
Complement that with the quickness of sophomore guards Frankie Cleope and Luke Labedski, who combined for 21 points, and you've got a formula for a blanketing defense and a rebounding machine.
Head coach Jim Wolfsmith still had worries about his young team though before its first game in the 20th annual Fremd Thanksgiving Tournament.
"I was kind of nervous. Fremd made us work," he said. "We definitely got after it tonight. We want to hold everyone to about 50."
Fremd committed 18 turnovers and shot just 18-of-51.
Hrynyk's 19 points included fluidly hitting 5 of 6 three-point attempts.
Equally young Fremd didn't take advantage of its opportunities and finally wore down against the taller Hawks.
The Vikings hung around on the inside play of sophomore forwards Charlie Rosenberg and high-scorer (11 points) Chris Klimek. But with Janton and Co. blocking 5 shots and altering many others, Fremd's shooting percentage kept dwindling.
The Vikings kept having to find creative ways to score, including guard Dan Bruno's literal seat-of-the-pants, on-the-floor flip-in after a loose-ball scramble during the third quarter. And junior guard Tim Kubis gave the Vikes a lift when he came off the bench.
"Our concern is defensively, we left too many shooters open too many times," said coach Bob Widlowski. "That was the first varsity experience for a lot of those guys."