Vikings Capture Share of 2nd Straight MSL West Title

Behind the strength of an all-senior starting lineup, the Fremd Vikings (17-8, 7-3) captured a share of their second consecutive MSL West championship on Friday night, beating the Conant Cougars 55-52 in Hoffman Estates.

Shooting guard Zach Monaghan led the Vikings with 15 points while Quinton Brown and Jack Konopka each finished with 14 as all but five of Fremd's points came from its starters.

"That's the way we expected our seniors to play all season long - they really stepped up tonight," said Vikings' head coach, Bob Widlowski. "I think we're really hard to guard when we're as balanced offensively as we were tonight."

Despite having to share the title with Barrington and Schaumburg (who both also won on Friday), the Vikings' locker room was filled with nothing but smiles and congratulatory hi-fives after the game.

"This is a great feeling. We we did it last year and to do it again as a senior is awesome," Brown said. "Especially to be able to celebrate with these guys - I love these guys!"

"One of our goals was to win the MSL West. We achieved that goal and we feel really good about it," Widlowski said. "We have a lot of respect for the teams in this league and to come out as co-champions, is quite a feat."

With the game tied at the end of the first quarter and again at halftime, Fremd opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run fueled by four-points apiece from Brown and Konopka. Conant turned the ball over on its first four possessions but then answered with a 7-0 run. Fremd extended its lead to five in the final minute of the quarter, but a Dylan Bartuch (16 points) three-pointer cut the Vikings' lead to 38-36 entering the fourth quarter.

Conant (16-8, 6-4) would tie the game on a three-pointer from Sean Bourke (nine-points) with 4:20 remaining, but the Vikings responded with five unanswered points and sealed the victory at the free throw line; Fremd connected on 21-of-24 free-throws.

"I thought we did a nice job on our last four possessions – executing offensively, hitting our free throws, and getting key stops to win the game," Widlowski said.

Brian Wadsworth added nine-points for the Cougars and London Dokubo finished with eight and three assists, but the Cougars committed 14 turnovers, eight of which came in the second half.

"Earlier in the year I'd say we could take something away from a game like this, but we're really disappointed in the way we executed," said Conant Head Coach Tom McCormack.

For the Vikings, the question now is not whether or not to celebrate the MSL West title, but for how long.

"We'll enjoy this for the weekend, or maybe just tonight if we have practice tomorrow morning," Konopka said with a laugh. "Whenever we practice next, that's when we'll get back to the grind."

Fremd, which has won its last three games (all on the road), will close out the regular season 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hersey.