X-citing finish again favors Williams, Fremd
One way to gauge the character of a boys basketball team is if that team can bounce back after a disappointing conference loss on its home floor, to its neighboring rival.
Fremd showed it has that bounce-back ability after a tough defeat to Palatine on Friday night..
The Vikings got back on track with a thrilling 53-49 nonconference win against Evanston at Loyola Academy's War on the Shore shootout in Wilmette on Saturday.
Xavier Williams and Kyle Sliwa came up with the big plays that made the difference in the game.
Williams finished the 'X-citement' with a 3-point basket with 1.8 left on the clock to give Fremd (15-6) the lead at 51-49 on an assist from Patrick Benka. Williams finished with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field.
On the Wildkits' inbound pass, Benka distracted Christian Hamil, who threw the ball out of bounds in front of the Fremd bench.
Williams was fouled when the Vikings inbounded the ball and made the final 2 free throws to clinch the win with 1.5 left.
"It was a total team effort," said Williams. "Everyone did their job. Sliwa's rebound gave us a chance to win the game."
Sliwa came up with a loose ball rebound after 2 missed Evanston free throws with :17 left, which gave the Vikings the possession.
"He just went all out to get that ball," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "It gaves us the opportunity to come down the floor and score."
Williams gave Evanston coach Mike Ellis nightmares with the winning basket.
"Last year he hit a 3-pointer like that that tied the game and sent it to overtime," said Ellis, about the game that Fremd won last season. "He was in a rhythm all night. He was able to get to spots where he could shoot. So when he hit that shot, it didn't surprise me."
"Their coach remembered," said Williams. "He told me after the game that it was a great shot. I can't believe this game played out like last year's. Tonight when I hit my first few shots I just kept going."
Williams scored 8 points in the first quarter as the two teams were tied after the first quarter at 15, and at halftime knotted at 25.
Fremd led 41-36 going into the final quarter on a basket by Williams with :03 left in the period.
Evanston (15-7) had taken the lead at 49-47 on Nojel Eastern's 2 free throws with 2:46 left. Eastern, who led Evanston with 16 points and 5 rebounds, missed 2 free throws with 1:53 left.
Benka (8 points, 4 rebounds) hit 1 of 2 free throws with :55 left to pull Fremd within 49-48.
"We had opportunities from the free throw line, but we didn't cash in," said Ellis.
The Wildkits hit 9 of 18 foul shots while Fremd made 8 of 10.
Elijah Henry was the only other double-figure scorer for Evanston with 12 points.
"Coming into this game, I thought we had a great attitude," said Widlowski. "In the morning walk-through, the players were locked in on the scouting rebort about Evanston. We played with great effort and beat a great team."