Fremd gets tough on 'D'

Fremd started the season by giving up 58 points and 67 points twice in its first three games.

That wasn't going to do if the Vikings wanted to defend their Mid-Suburban League boys basketball championship.

Now the Vikings (12-6, 4-1) have won four in a row to take sole possession of first place in the MSL West. The most points they have allowed in that streak is 54.

"That's probably our biggest improvement," said Fremd senior Jack Konopka after Saturday's 55-46 win over Conant.

"Our biggest area of imoprovement from Thanksgiving to now has been our defense," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski.

Saturday's win showed there is still room to grow. The Vikings allowed only 18 points in the first 16-plus minutes and 12 points in the final 11 minutes.

Then there was the stretch where Conant scored 16 points in a four-minute span to turn a 27-18 deficit into a 34-30 lead.

"We're clicking pretty well, but we're trying to put together a full game and we have yet to do that," said Fremd senior Zach Monaghan. "Defending for all four quarters is our main focus and that's what we have to do."

But the Vikings are getting closer as they head into Saturday's cross-town matchup at Palatine (7-11, 2-3) to start the second half of division play.

Fremd won the first meeting 44-40 in the first of four games Monaghan missed after he was hurt in a car accident.

Since Schaumburg (7-8, 3-2) is playing Lockport in Saturday's High School Hoops Showdown at the Sears Centre, it will host its MSL West game with Hoffman Estates (4-12, 0-5) at 7:30 p.m. today.

Conant (11-5, 3-2) tries to recover from consecutive division losses when it visits red-hot Barrington (13-6, 3-2) in a key West matchup Saturday. The loser could fall two games out of first.

Hersey (10-6, 5-0) puts its MSL East lead on the line Saturday at Rolling Meadows (7-9, 2-3). Prospect (9-6, 4-1) is at Wheeling (4-12, 0-5) and Buffalo Grove (11-7, 3-2) hosts Elk Grove (4-13, 1-4).

Limiting the lapses and lulls: St. Viator would have preferred to avoid the dramatic overtime ending provided by Kevin Walsh just before the buzzer to beat Nazareth 62-60 last Friday.

The Lions would have preferred to avoid overtime entirely. But a couple of turnovers in the final minute helped a 6-point lead disappear.

"That's happened to us a few times this year and we have to work on that," Walsh said. "We have to be able to close out games better.

"Throughout the season we have a stretch where we seem to give up a lot of points and we're trying to eliminate that."

St. Viator senior Cameron Korab said one of the keys is not letting a missed shot, a turnover or defensive lapse lead to an extended run for the opposition.

"It's us compounding our mistakes," Korab said. "Coach (assistant Mike) Howland says when you make a mistake, that's it.

"We're working hard not to compound our mistakes. If you're going to make a mistake, you have to get your head up, get back down the floor and play defense."

Viator hosts Marian Catholic tonight and has its makeup game at Joliet Catholic on Monday.

Big Redwing machine: Unbeaten Benet made quite an impression on Viator coach Joe Majkowski before its 48-32 loss Tuesday night in Lisle.

Majkowski is now the longest tenured head coach in the East Suburban Catholic Conference with the departure of St. Joseph and Gene Pingatore to the Chicago Catholic League.

And Majkowski had high praise for a Benet team led by 7-foot Wisconsin signee Frank Kamkinsky and Northwestern-bound point guard David Sobolewski which is 19-0 and ranked second in The Associated Press Class 4A poll.

"They're the most dominant team in the conference in the time I've been a head coach," said Majkowski, now in his 24th year in charge of the Lions. "They have everything and they're poised. They're so confident in themselves and it's just remarkable how good they are.

"It's no knock on those (St.) Joe's teams at all, but the way Benet is beating people, they're a machine. They play that way all the time."

Rough starts: It's been a tough first year in college for two of the MSL's best players from a year ago.

Fremd graduate Chris Klimek just had back surgery about two weeks ago and is redshirting at Washington University in St. Louis.

Prospect graduate Joe LaTulip hurt his knee in the preseason at Illinois Wesleyan and is recovering in the hopes of getting back on the floor next year.

Postseason primer: Postseason seeding for Class 3A and 4A teams is Feb. 9-10. Leyden, Fremd, Conant, Wheeling and Maine West are hosting 4A regionals and Barrington is hosting a 4A sectional.

Hoffman Estates High School will host a 3A supersectional for the second straight year. Christian Liberty is hosting a 1A regional.