Paul earns milestone point and redemption
The basketball that Warren's players were passing around in their locker room and autographing for Brandon Paul was one that their teammate had earned.
Blue Devils coach Chuck Ramsey had presented the ball to his senior as a souvenir for surpassing 1,000 career points Friday night.
Regardless of the milestone, Paul had deserved the game ball.
Overcoming 1-of-9 shooting in the first half and some tough heckling from Libertyville's spirited student fans, Paul rediscovered the foul-shooting form that betrayed him last week and found a way to score a game-high 20 points. His efforts led Warren to a much-welcomed victory, 51-47 over the upset-minded visitors in a North Suburban Lake Division thriller.
Warren (16-4, 7-3) snapped a three-game losing streak, despite playing without starting guard David Duncan, who missed most of the week with illness and a skin infection on his knee.
And with fellow starter Jake Anderson not playing until the second quarter after missing two days of practice with the flu, Paul's play was particularly important.
He was clutch, going 4 of 4 from the stripe in the final 20 seconds after Libertyville (7-13, 4-7) pulled within 46-45 on Josh Trees' three-point play with 1:40 to go.
It was just six days earlier that Paul, playing with an achy shooting hand, went 0 of 10 from the foul line against Stevenson. With the Blue Devils down 2 with 2.1 seconds left, he missed 3 free throws right-handed, after shooting his first seven with his opposite hand.
"I just wanted to make up for those free throws that I missed the last game," Paul said.
When Paul missed his first free throw - in the second quarter - Libertyville's fans chanted "0 for 11, 0 for 11." Then, when Paul stepped to the foul line with 19.8 seconds on the clock and Warren clinging to a one-point lead, the visiting fans chanted, "Pressure, pressure."
"I wasn't really paying attention to it," said Paul, who promptly swished the first free throw - which happened to be career point No. 1,000 for the three-year varsity player.
No Warren had accomplished that feat since Jeff Woods, who played one year for the Blue Devils after transferring from Antioch, did it in 1994.
Paul, who finished 5 of 18 from the floor and 8 of 11 from the foul line, also grabbed 7 rebounds and helped hold sharpshooter John Colao to 1-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc.
Paul Aynilian led the Wildcats with a season-high 19 points and 7 rebounds.
James Poliquin added 13 points for Warren, while Anderson had 8.
"I thought Brandon really did what he needed to do tonight," Ramsey said. "The first thing he had to do was guard No. 14. Colao's been hot for them. They run stuff for him, and he had 3 points. Secondly, we needed Brandon to rebound (because) we didn't know if we had Jake or not."
Craig Burton started in Duncan's place and impressed with 6 points, including a 3-pointer, and tough defense.
"Especially in the second half, his pressure on the ball was outstanding," Ramsey said. "He really came to play. Craig is an example of a guy who plays hard in practice every single day and tries to do things right all the time. He's earned an opportunity, and he's doing an excellent job."
With Aynilian sinking three 3s in the first half, Libertyville enjoyed a 26-16 lead. Warren then owned the third quarter, outscoring the visitors 17-4.
"I thought they had a hard time when we went zone (in the first half)," Libertyville coach Scott Bogumil said. "We just kind of threw it out there one possession and they seemed to struggle with it, so we stayed in it. But I thought in the third quarter they really started finding the gaps, and I thought they really hurt us on the glass."