A trio of positives for Fremd

Good things happened in threes in Fremd's 47-40 win over Hersey in Palatine on Tuesday night in a Mid-Suburban boys basketball crossover.

Sophomore Brian Dompke emerged as a legitimate scorer as he led both teams with 15 points and 8 rebounds.

Secondly, the game marked the return of 6-foot-7 junior Patrick Benka, who had missed the Vikings' first eight games with a lower body injury.

Finally, a key 3-point basket by sophomore guard Kyle Sliwa off of a rebound and assist by Dompke gave Fremd (8-1) a 41-29 lead with 5:57 left in the game.

"I thought that was a big play in the game for us," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "Dompke grabbed the rebound and kicked it out to Sliwa (9 points), who made the shot."

The Huskies (4-4) put together a rally to pull to 42-37 after a free throw by Joe Coffaro with :31 left. Sliwa hit 2 free throws with :30 left to give Fremd a safe 44-37 lead.

Benka scored 4 points on a basket and 2 free throws and was glad for the playing time he received.

"It was good to get in there and shake off the rust," said Benka. "When I finally hit my basket in the third quarter it took a lot of weight off my shoulders. I just want to contribute to the team however coach needs me."

"Benka has not played a game since July," said Widlowski. "He was excited to play tonight and we were excited to have him back. I wanted to limit his minutes. We played a lot of combinations."

In the meantime, Dompke, a 6-5 sophomore, helped key the second quarter with 8 points as the Vikings led 26-15 at halftime.

Dompke scored 4 points in the Vikings' 9-2 run to close the quarter.

"I give a lot of credit to my teammates," said Dompke. "They found me in open spots and I was able to convert. I'm just getting more confidence with the pace and physicality of varsity ball. Tonight we made good plays at the right time."

Widlowski has noticed the improved play.

"He's been making some nice strides for us," said Widlowski. "He did a nice job scoring inside for us tonight."

"Brian really stepped up tonight and played a great game," added Benka. "I'm happy for him. He showed what he can do. He's a hard worker."

Fremd's defense played well in holding down high-scoring Payton Haas and Max Heeren of Hersey. Heeren scored 3 points and Haas did not score.

"We prepared well for Haas and Hereen," said Widlowski. "We had to know where they were on the court all the time. I thought both teams played very hard tonight."

The Huskies were led by junior Zak Cooper with 11 points and Mark Milligan 10.

Hersey was outrebounded 31-20 and converted only 6 of 14 free throws.

"When we rebound, we win'" said Hersey coach Steve Messer. "We missed enough free throws where we could have won the game. Both things are fixable. We have to be able to get out to better starts."