The Warren Blue Devils will take on DeKalb the day this is published, March 4th at 7 pm to advance to the Sectional Championship. But how did they get here? This article will cover what the Blue Devils have done in the past month and a half and the road ahead if they win against DeKalb.
We pick up where I left off in my last article against the Lake Zurich Bears where the Blue Devils surprisingly lost 49-48 on their home court. They bounced back the next game against Libertyville when they blew out the Wildcats 73-47. Maine South followed where the Blue Devils won 68-67 in a thriller. With under fifteen seconds remaining in the game, the point guard for Maine South shot a three in between the three-point line at the top of the arc and the half-court line and drained it to go ahead 67-66. Jaxon Davis quickly drove the ball to the rack and drew a foul, where he proceeded to make both free throws to go ahead by one with six seconds left. Maine South couldn’t get a shot off, and Warren snuck out with a win.
Unfortunately, the Blue Devils lost another close conference game, this time to Lake Forest by three, 48-45, to further separate themselves from Waukegan for the conference lead. Even though they lost the previous day, the Blue Devils traveled over an hour away to face Bolingbrook to battle Jaxon Davis’ AAU teammate, Davion Thompson. They were regarded as a top 10 team in the state led by Thompson, but Davis and the Devils held strong and won putting up eighty-two points and winning by eleven.
Coming off a huge win, the Blue Devils looked to even up the season series against the Waukegan Bulldogs on their home court. Waukegan won the previous matchup 72-62 in a close game until they pulled away in the final minutes. The game in the Dogpound was a physical game with no team pulling away at any point. The return of Javerion Banks helped as he came off the bench and fueled the Blue Devils down the stretch. The Bulldogs came out victorious 68-65 but not without controversy. The score was 66-62 and Javerion Banks made the basket and the foul. He then made the free throw to go down by two. Off the following inbound, Warren got a steal and the score to make it 66-66 except that wasn’t the actual score. Instead of giving Banks the two points for the basket, he was only awarded one. The scoreboard said the Blue Devils were down 66-65 and had to play the foul game where they couldn’t pull out the win which builds up even more anticipation for their next potential matchup.
The next week, Warren would capture wins against Zion-Benton, Thornton, and Mundelein, only falling to the Milwaukee Academy of Science, one of the best teams in Wisconsin. Next, the Blue Devils awaited Stevenson, who hadn’t lost a road game dating back to last season and had a great record in the conference. Whoever won this game would greatly affect their chance of making the conference championship. Both teams found buckets inside the three-point line, with the Blue Devils mostly scoring on drives and transition twos. After a back-and-forth game, the Blue Devils again lost a conference game by a close margin, losing 58-56. This was their fourth conference loss losing by three or fewer dating back to the middle of February.
Going into playoffs, a key for the Devils will be to close out these close games. Down the homestretch of the regular season, the Blue Devils got revenge on Lake Zurich and beat Libertyville and Zion-Benton. They also lost to Waubonsie Valley by only four, a top 8 team in the state according to MaxPreps and Slouche. The Blue Devils shouldn’t be counted out in this year’s postseason because of their ability to stick with elite teams. Against the best teams in the state like Kenwood, DePaul Prep, Waubonsie Valley, Waukegan, and even MAS in Wisconsin, they haven’t lost a game by more than ten points. Like inner conference play, it’s just a matter of closing out games at the end of regulation.
In their route to sectionals, the Blue Devils already beat Grant and McHenry by double digits earning their spot in the semifinals against DeKalb. DeKalb is 26-6, riding a ten-game win streak going into the matchup including a win against Waubonsie Valley, who the Blue Devils fell short to in February. Senior Sean Reynolds of DeKalb should be feared going into the game, as he was honored before the game against Waubonsie Valley scoring the most points in DeKalb boys basketball history. He also committed to D’Youville University, a D2 school in New York. He along with Junior Davon Grant helped DaKalb overtake Waubonsie Valley and is a threat to Warren’s defense heading into the matchup. A key for the Blue Devils in this game is to find a consistent game plan in their offense and maintain it in the second half. Whether from behind the arc or on their way to the rim, having a dependent bread-and-butter style of offense is needed to advance to the Sectional Championship. Consistency will be key within their offense if they want to conquer DeKalb.
If the Devils win against DeKalb, they will await the winner of Waukegan and Rockford (Guilford), the one and two seeds in the southern part of the bracket who play on Wednesday, March 5th. Waukegan defeated Warren in both of their regular season appearances. Rockford finished the season 27-5 and only lost one game in conference so no matter the outcome of that game, the Devils will have to bring it to advance to further tournament play. The road is unclear after the Sectional Championship so more updates to come. The winners of the semifinal games will play on Friday, March 7th in the Dogpound in Waukegan at 7 pm. It’s that exciting time of year and the Blue Devils are ready to make some noise. Be there to watch Warren make history. GO BLUE DEVILS!!!
