Thomas, Warren get past Grant

Shahron Thomas picked up his game, and so did Warren's entire boys basketball team.

Thomas came off the bench to score all 20 of his points over the final three quarters and lead the Blue Devils to a much-welcomed 58-43 victory over visiting Grant in a North Suburban Conference crossover in Gurnee on Friday night.

Craig Burton added 13 points for Warren (4-10), which had lost six of its last seven contests.

"It was a good game, we all played hard and everybody got together," Thomas said. "Coming off the bench, you need to play strong and bring the team up. We're progressively getting back together and working as a team."

The Blue Devils forced the issue, applying pressure on Grant's guards, which caused a number of turnovers and turned the game into Warren's favor in the second quarter.

"We were finally able to force some turnovers and converted them into baskets," Warren coach Chuck Ramsey said. "We created them late in the first half and at times in the second half."

Warren broke free of Grant (6-11) in the final two minutes of the second quarter with a 9-2 run and led 31-24 at the half.

"Grant slowed the game down very well," Ramsey said. "Grant had the time of possession, reversing the ball and screening. Those things we were eventually able to stop."

The Blue Devils shot 11 of 12 from the field in the second quarter and shot 63 percent for the contest, while Grant was in the area of 60 percent.

Warren came out strong in the third quarter. Thomas' layup capped an 8-0 run and had the Blue Devils up 39-24 with 3:38 left.

Grant couldn't recover after that and trailed by double digits the rest of the way.

Shane Richardson led the Bulldogs with a team-high 19 points, while Thomas Gier chipped in nine.

"We were really efficient on offense," Ramsey said. "(Scoring) 58 points in this game is like scoring 75 in most games. You don't see teams as patient as Grant was in this one."