On Friday night, the Warren Blue Devils were set to face the Waukegan Bulldogs. Both teams had a three-game winning streak heading into the game, and both teams were looking to extend it to four. When asked about the road ahead to the playoffs, coach Zack Ryan said, “We just gotta do what we’ve done most of the season. These guys play hard and together and if we execute what we’re supposed to do and it gives ourselves a chance.” It was Warren’s alumni night and the Blue Devils were looking to put on a show in front of old students here at Warren.
The Blue Devils got out to a hot start in the first quarter. A bunch of the points in the quarter were accounted for by free throws, as both the Devils and the Bulldogs were getting to the line at a high rate. However, Waukegan was right on Warren’s tail as they kept making tough shots including a buzzer-beater three at the end of the quarter to make the lead 20-17 Warren after the first. The second quarter was a different story. The Blue Devils continued playing at an elite level and Waukegan couldn’t make the shots they were making in the first quarter. The turning point for the Blue Devils as they were pulling away was when Junior Owen Squires made back-to-back threes, completely shifting the momentum as the crowd erupted. The Blue Devils held a commanding 45-29 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Warren kept up their consistent scoring as they registered 23 in the quarter expanding their lead to 25 points. The Blue Devils once again had a great fourth quarter, ending the game with an insane 91-63 victory over the Bulldogs. A key to Warren’s success was scoring the ball down low near the rim and grabbing rebounds. By the end of the game, 56 of the 91 points the Blue Devils scored were in the paint and they outrebounded the Bulldogs 38-17. Another reason why Warren was successful is because they spread the ball well on offense. Five players finished with double digits in points including Freshman Jaxson Davis with a team-high 20 points; Senior Manny Brown with 14 points; Senior Alex Daniels with 13 points; Junior Jack Wolf also with 13 points; and Junior Javerion Banks with 12 points.
A big reason why the Blue Devils won this game was their consistency on offense, putting up over 20 points in every quarter. When Senior Manny Brown was asked about his consistency as well as the offense as a whole, he explained, “Just stay in the gym. Be a gym rat. You gotta practice and just stay level-headed. That’s all you gotta do.”
The Blue Devils only have three more games until playoffs playing teams such as Lake Forest, Zion-Benton, and Lake Zurich, two of them being very tough matchups. Warren looks to continue their momentum and good play headed into playoffs which start in late February.
