Putting the ball in the hands of Hoffman Estates point guard Jonny Reibel is tantamount to the Los Angeles Dodgers delivering a ninth-inning lead to Eric Gagne.
Reibel nailed nine straight free throws in the final two minutes of his closing act Friday night to secure No. 11 Hoffman Estates’ 56-44 road victory over No. 14 Schaumburg before a boisterous crowd estimated at 3,500.
The Saxons not only locked up the Mid-Suburban West crown but also gained a mental edge just in case these two rivals should meet up in the Class AA sectional at Buffalo Grove.
“Coach [Bill Wandro] told us to attack the basket if we got an open lane,” said Reibel, who drove to the basket relentlessly in the fourth quarter and converted 11 of 13 free throws to finish with 19 points and six assists. “Once I hit the first two [foul shots], it felt pretty good.”
Reibel’s set-up man was Bryan Mead, whose long-distance shooting accounted for 17 points. He also led the Hawks with seven rebounds.
Time and again Reibel penetrated through the Schaumburg defense, drew a crowd of Saxons and then whipped a pass to Mead, who was positioned along the three-point arc.
“Jonny’s good at finding people who are open,” Mead said. “We’ve been playing together so long–since freshman year.”
The closest Schaumburg (19-5, 7-3) could come in the fourth quarter was 40-36 after 6-foot-9-inch Craig Reichel scored on a back-door layup. But Jessie Farder responded with a clutch three-pointer that sent Hoffman Estates (24-2, 9-1) off to an eventual 12-point lead.
“We hit the big shots when we needed them, and we have really good success with Jonny,” Wandro said. “His pacing makes him hard to guard.”
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The 6-foot Farder’s defense on the Saxons’ 6-5 standout, Zach Pancratz, limited the Northern Illinois signee to 15 points and nine rebounds.
Likewise, 6-4 Branden Jung held Reichel to 15 points and eight boards.
“This feels good to clinch the title,” Reibel said. “Hoffman Estates hasn’t done it in eight years, and that was when my older brother [Tony] played.
“We knew they would make some runs, but we didn’t want to show them that we were afraid.”
Hoffman Estates will be host to Wheeling in the MSL title game Wednesday night.