'Perfect' Poliquin powers Warren over Niles West

The word perfect is usually reserved for bowling and, on a rare occasion, baseball. But Warren basketball player James Poliquin was just that from the field Monday in Pontiac.

Perfect.

"No way," the big man said when told of his 10-of-10 performance. "I don't ever remember doing that."

In the 79-48 drilling of Niles West in the first round of the 78th annual Pontiac Holiday Tournament, the 6-foot-4 senior forward was unchallenged as he got inside position all afternoon. Poliquin scored 10 of Warren's first 12 points, all from within five feet of the basket. He ended the game with 20 points and 7 rebounds.

Warren (7-1) will play Lockport, a 60-57 winner over Bloomington, at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

"I was worried about James because he had nobody to guard," coach Chuck Ramsey said. "But then I realized they had nobody to guard him and he helped us get off to a good start offensively."

There was also an abundance of Illinois paraphernalia in the stands, as the faithful of the Orange Crush came out to see Illini commit Brandon Paul with their own eyes. After scoring only 4 points in the first half, Paul exploded in the third quarter for 15 points, missing only two shots from the field.

When asked if its 16-day layoff had anything to do with Warren's sluggish defensive start, Ramsey simply suggested, "You'd have to ask the kids."

"We were a little concerned about the time off," Paul said. "But we worked to get better in practices."

Paul ended up leading all scorers with 24 points, shooting 50 percent from the field.

The two teams were tied at 27-27 with 1:40 left in the first half and Warren led the feisty Wolves only 31-27 at half before the Devils broke out.

Warren outscored Niles West 28-8 to go up 20 and put the game out of reach.

Warren's defense picked up in the second half, giving up only 21 points, and outrebounded Niles West (4-3) for the game, 43-23, including 12 offensive rebounds.

"We played better defensively in the second half," Ramsey said. "We saw what Niles West could do (in wins over New Trier and Loyola Academy), so we had to be ready."

Stefan Kovacevic led the Wolves with 19 points coming off the bench. RJ Dilay (12 points) also reached double figures.