Wins keep coming as Warren prevails again

Many times, the Warren boys basketball team has put together several long winning streaks.

This has not been one of those seasons.

But Warren finally strung together consecutive wins by going on the road Tuesday and holding off Mundelein 62-60 in a North Suburban Lake Division game. The Blue Devils were coming off a 15-point victory over Grant on Friday.

While this is not one of Warren's strongest teams, the Blue Devils (5-10, 3-4) will be a tough out in the playoffs if they continue to play the way they did against Mundelein (15-10, 3-6).

"The seniors are starting to get it," Warren coach Chuck Ramsey said.

Warren led 52-40 early in the fourth quarter. After struggling from the field throughout, Mundelein finally began to make some key shots. A 3-pointer by freshman guard Robert Knar cut the deficit to 56-55 with 1:49 left.

Warren sophomore Darius Paul, the younger brother of Illinois guard Brandon Paul, proceeded to score the next 4 points to give his team a 60-55 lead.

"He had two humongous put-backs for us," Ramsey said.

After a 3-pointer by Mundelein senior Ben Brust, Warren countered with another basket. But senior Tony Tucker's layup trimmed the margin to 62-60 with 14.4 seconds remaining.

Warren was able to hold the ball for 7.2 seconds before Mundelein was finally able to foul. Paul gave Mundelein a chance when he missed both free throws. The Mustangs raced up the court and Knar found Brust at the top of the key. Brust's contested shot would have counted, but it was never on line and bounced off the rim. This was Mundelein's third consecutive loss.

"He's a great 3-point shooter," Mundelein coach Dick Knar said about Brust. "We got the ball where we wanted. We'll take that shot every time."

Warren had success throughout the game in the paint. Senior forward Shahron Thomas, who scored 20 points against Grant, had a game-high 22 points and 8 rebounds. Paul finished with 11 points. When the two teams played Dec. 12, Warren posted a 65-53 victory.

"They couldn't really handle our high-low," Paul said.

Warren senior point guard Marquise Thomas scored 11 points. He had 4 assists and 1 turnover.

"He was very efficient," Ramsey said.

Mundelein shot 22 percent from the field in the first half and 36 percent for the game.

"We couldn't buy a basket," Dick Knar said.

Warren's Craig Burton and Jon Geske prevented Brust from getting a lot of clean looks. Brust did have a team-high 19 points, and Robert Knar had 17 points.

Junior Richard Knar hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the third quarter.

"We had to pick it up and make some shots," he said.